Chicken Soup
by VegasGoddess
Summary: [GSR] Secrets revealed, two crimes, a migraine, chicken soup, and a split up team made by the one who was supposed to keep them together.
1. Chapter One

**Title:** Chicken Soup

**Summary:** Secrets revealed, two crimes, a migraine, chicken soup, and a split up team made by the one who was supposed to keep them together.

**Spoilers:** If it's aired before season 7, then it's game. All the important GSR episodes and even a couple not-so-important ones.

**Disclaimer:** I own them! Yes! I am the best person ever! I own CSI! And Harry Potter! And Disney! Mwahahaha! They're all mine!!

**A/N:** Okay, this is actually my first written fanfiction, so don't loose faith in me if this one isn't as good as my others, because those ones are more recent. I have to thank Cheryl for giving me the title, because I could not think of one, so she mentioned chicken soup, and that became the title. So thank you Cheryl! Also, this isn't edited. Alex is super busy with school now (so am I) and she didn't have the time. So all mistakes are, gladly mine to own, along with the above mentioned franchises. :) Read and enjoy.

* * *

**Chicken Soup**

_Chapter One_

Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle had been dating for months, but none of their friends or coworkers knew. The couple knew that people had their suspicions about them; they had for years. Especially Conrad Ecklie, the Assistant Lab Director. But even through all that, Sara didn't care. She had wanted to be with Grissom for a very long time, and now that dream had come true.

Sara jumped in surprise when her side began to ring. It was her phone. She picked it up to look at the caller ID. It was her boss – and lover – Grissom. She smiled to herself and picked up. "Hey, how –"

Grissom's hard voice cut her off. "Sara, we need to talk. Now. Come to my office."

Sara had no idea what was going on, and the hardness in his voice was putting her on edge. He never sounded like that… he was always calm. "Grissom, what is going on?"

But he wouldn't tell her, just repeated what he had said before. "My office. Now."

Sara hurried to Grissom's office, wondering what was so urgent that they couldn't talk about it at home. When she walked passed the break room, she was surprised to see the entire graveyard shift sitting in there; not doing anything.

Catherine, Warrick, Nick, Greg, Brass, and Sofia were sitting around the table, chatting over coffee.

"Uh… Cath?" Sara asked, walking in. "What's going on?"

Catherine looked up from Warrick. "I don't know. Grissom said that there was a staff meeting and that we all needed to be here." Sara nodded and went to sit down, but Catherine wasn't done talking. "He also said that he wasn't talking to anyone until he'd talked to you. So you might want to go in there." She pointed down the hall towards Grissom's office. Sara nodded again and left the break room.

When she arrived at his office, the blinds on the windows were closed, _again_. They'd been like that for a while, and whenever Sara asked him about it, he would avoid the question, just saying that he'd been receiving headaches a lot lately. She wondered if the headaches somehow had something to do with her. Was he stressing about someone finding out about them? He'd been insistent that they keep it under wraps until the time was right.

**OoOoOoO**

After Sara had disappeared down the hallway, Catherine turned to the room at large. "What do you think is going on in there?" she asked.

"They're sleeping together," Nick said matter-of-factly.

Catherine was appalled. "Nick!"

He looked up from the apple he was eating. "What? You don't think that Grissom and Sara are sleeping together?" The blonde woman shook her head no. "Cath. You've seen the way they look at each other, act around each other. They are _definitely_ sleeping together, or at the very least, spending a _lot_ of time together outside of work."

Warrick had to stifle a laugh. "Grissom? Outside of work? No way."

Brass decided to join in. "Nick, you seem to know a lot about our two most private CSI's. Are you somehow involved in this?"

Nick almost choked on the apple. "Dude, no. But everyone knows how Sara feels about Grissom, at least. She made it pretty damn obvious."

Everyone nodded their heads silently, processing Nick's logic. Everyone that is, except for Sofia, who said, "What?"

Greg lifted his head up, and said, "Sofia… oh yeah, you weren't here when all hell went down between the two of them." He moved his gaze to Catherine. "You want to tell her?"

"Why me?" Catherine complained.

"Because, Catherine," Brass said, smirking. "You're his best friend. And you know him the best. So you probably have a better knowledge of what happened than the rest of us do. So tell Sofia."

Catherine slumped in her chair. She did indeed know what had happened between Grissom and Sara. It had broken him to tell her no, and his reasoning was that it was the right thing professionally, and his hearing was going.

She did not feel at all comfortable talking to Sofia about this, because she showed a very obvious interest in Grissom, and Catherine also knew that Sara would blow Sofia's head off if she came near him.

She came back to the present to find everyone staring at her expectantly. Catherine sighed, sat up straight, and began to talk.


	2. Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

Oblivious to the conversation going on in the break room, Sara was pissed off and on the verge of killing the man in front of her. Grissom had just told her that there would be two separate teams, and that they would not be working on the same one.

"C'mon, Sara, we'll go outside and explain it to the rest of the team, and then we can go home and talk," Grissom said gently.

But Sara shook her head no. She wanted answers first. "Why?" she whispered. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Oh Sara," he said, walking around his desk to put his arms around her shoulders. "Honey, I'm doing this for us. So we can stay together. People have their suspicions about us… and I don't want that. Please just trust me on this?" He kissed the top of her head so lightly she could barely feel it. "Please?"

**OoOoOoO**

Sofia sat in the break room, shocked. "You mean… Sara told Grissom… that she was… in _love_ with him, and he just said no!?"

Catherine grimaced at how harsh that sounded. "Look Sofia, I don't know the exact details. I don't think that's _exactly_ what happened… Why don't you go ask them yourself?" Everyone turned to stare at Catherine like she was crazy.

"Ask them?" Greg finally managed to choke out. He turned to Sofia. "Don't do it. It's career suicide. Sara will blow your head off!"

Sofia ignored Greg's warning. She stood up and walked out of the room.

**OoOoOoO**

Angry tears were threatening to fall from Sara's eyes when there was a knock on the office door. Grissom let go of her shoulders and went to answer it. On the other side, he found Sofia standing there.

"Look Sofia, we're almost done. I promise. Ten minutes, tops." He shut the door without waiting for an answer.

Sara's anger grew. "What is she doing here? What did she want? What right did she have coming here –" She was cut off by Grissom's stare. "What?"

He looked down. "Nothing, Sara," he answered quietly. The disappointment in his voice almost killed her. She looked away.

Grissom took a step toward her, placing his hands on her cheeks; wiping away the angry tears that had escaped. "Come on. We'll go out there. We'll talk to everyone, get it all settled out, and then we'll go home." He moved his hands from her face, one staying at his side and the other finding its spot on her lower back. "Let's go."

**OoOoOoO**

Sofia walked back to the break room in a stunned silence. What had just happened? Grissom was alone in his office with Sara, with the blinds closed. And he'd just shut the door in her face. Without an explanation, either. What was going on with him?

She stepped back into the room to find everyone staring at her. "So," Greg said, "How did things go? Are you fired for entering the boss' personal life?"

Everyone was looking at her for the answer. "He wouldn't let me into his office," Sofia explained. "He barely talked to me. Just said that they'd be out in ten minutes. I didn't even get the chance to talk to him. And no, Greg, I'm not fired."

Catherine sighed. "Why don't we just wait until they get here, okay? Nobody says any more gossip."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Grissom pushed open the break room door, Sara on his tail.

Her face was free of tears, but her eyes were like steel and cold. This fact was something everyone in the room took note of, and how she walked to the opposite end of the room; farthest away from Grissom.

"Sofia, could you please sit down so I can make my announcement?" Grissom asked. She nodded and sat down.

Everyone else looked to Grissom. "Announcement?" Catherine asked, questions in her eyes.

"Yes, Catherine, my announcement." The look he gave her said to stop and just listen. "My announcement is important. It is regarding all of you, so pay attention." He looked to Sara, but she was avoiding his eyes. He plowed forward. "From now on, there will be separate teams. This isn't the same thing that happened when Ecklie split us up –"

He stopped at the stunned expressions of his team's faces. "I will be the lead CSI of one team, Catherine will be the other."

Catherine stood up abruptly. "Gil, outside, now."

"Cath, it can wait until afterwards –" he tried to protest, but she persisted.

"Gil, now." She pointed to the door.

Grissom looked wearily from the door to Catherine and back again. "Fine." He turned to his team. "Be right back."

**OoOoOoO**

Catherine all but pushed him out the door. "Grissom!" she exploded once they were safely in the hall. "What the hell are you talking about, two teams!? When, exactly, was I going to be informed of this?"

Grissom sighed. "Now, along with everyone else."

"Why does Sara get advanced notice?" Catherine asked, her eyes boring into his.

"She doesn't – what?" Grissom looked at her, obviously confused. "You think this is what we were talking about?" Her gaze did not falter. "Alright, it was what we were talking about," he acknowledged, silently cursing the woman's ability to see right through him. "But she knows as much as you do right now. So if we go back in there, you, and everyone else will get some more details."

Catherine still looked mad but she followed him back into the room anyway.

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom walked back into the room to have everyone staring at him expectantly, except for Sara, who was still avoiding any eye contact whatsoever. He pushed the pain in his heart away and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, there will be two teams. One headed by myself, the other by Catherine. The teams are as follows: Catherine, you get Sara and Warrick. Greg and Nick, you're with me."

He looked to the two cops. "Jim, Sofia, I'm not your supervisor, so I can't assign you to these new teams. But as friends, I would really appreciate if you could work with the team I give you. Sofia, when it works for you, you'll be working with me. And Brass, again, when possible, I'd like you to work with Catherine. Is that okay?" The two cops nodded in acknowledgement. "Alright. These teams are how they are, no changes, or switches, unless necessary. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. "Good. Then I'm giving you the night off. See you all tomorrow."

Everyone grinned at each other, and got up quickly, collecting their things. No one was going to hang around long enough to see if Grissom would change his mind. The room emptied quickly, leaving only Sofia, Sara, and Grissom.

Not wanting to be caught in the middle of whatever was about to happen between the two women, he quickly slipped out as well.


	3. Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

After Grissom had closed the door, Sofia confronted Sara. "Is it true that you and Grissom are together?"

Sara was in no mood for this, but she had to keep her cool. She wasn't surprised by the questions, they'd been coming at her for months. But that didn't make answering them any easier. She hated denying what she and Grissom had, but she knew it was for the best.

"No Sofia. I am not dating Grissom, or sleeping with him, or doing anything outside of work."

She was still mildly surprised how easily the lies slipped off of her tongue. It was an odd feeling. She'd said these lies for years before, but that was when they _weren't_ lies. Now it was just plain weird.

Sofia smiled at her, but her eyes were cold. "Your face tells a different story, Sara. You're not a very good liar."

This brought a smile to Sara's lips. Sofia was bluffing. Nobody could see through her that easily, except maybe Grissom. She stood up to leave and said, "Contrary to popular belief, Sofia, I am a _very_ good liar, when I sink down low enough to lie to people."

Sofia's smile grew. "Well, that makes him single then, doesn't it?"

Sara shrugged, heading for the door. "How should I know?"

"Oh, I don't know. Just thought you might. Well, I'm going to go see him, so if you need me, I'll be in his office." Sofia stood, picked up her bags and pushed past Sara out into the hallway. "See you later," she said wickedly, smirking. She turned and headed in the direction of his office.

**OoOoOoO**

With Sofia gone, Sara sank back down into a chair, feeling a new batch of angry tears forming in her eyes. _Why the hell am I crying? He wouldn't ever cheat on me, right?_

The tears had overflowed down her cheeks, and she hastily wiped them away, even though her mind was still racing. _Well, yeah, women are attracted to him – I mean, who wouldn't be? He's sexy as hell – but he loves me. He would never cheat…_

She couldn't stand being in the lab anymore, with these thoughts and doubts pouring into her heart, so she picked up her stuff to leave. She then realized that to get to the parking lot and her car, she'd have to pass by his office. _Whatever,_ she thought moodily. _He'll be distracted by Sofia._

She walked quickly and quietly out of the break room, towards the parking lot.

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom was gearing up to leave as well when there was a knock on his door. "Come in," he called, figuring it was Sara. When he turned around, however, he was greeted with the sight of Sofia standing just inside the doorway.

"Grissom," she said brightly.

"Sofia, what –" he stopped, and looked past her into the hallway. He'd just seen Sara walk by, her face tear-streaked. "Sara!" he called. "Sara!"

Sofia looked behind her, searching for the brunette. She was nowhere in the short hallway leading to the back parking lot. "Look, Grissom, I wanted to ask you something," she began.

But he wasn't listening. Instead, he was pulling on his coat and jacket. "Sofia? I can't talk right now… I, I have to go."

"It's only a small –"

Grissom was standing in front of her now, moving her gently out of his path. "Sofia, not now. Tomorrow, okay?" he told her, getting annoyed that she was still there. He stepped out of his office without another word to her, and ran down the hall after Sara.


	4. Chapter Four

_Chapter Four_

Sara had heard Grissom call after her, but she hadn't stopped. She'd kept going, out onto the street. She'd driven to work herself that night, but she didn't go to her car. Instead she just walked. Where to, she didn't know. She didn't really care, either.

She'd only been outside for five minutes when the sky opened up and it began to pour. More tears that she didn't know she'd been holding back came crashing down with the water from the sky, mixing salty tears with fresh rain water. Even over the sudden thunder and lightening, she heard someone call her name.

"Sara!"

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom had followed the way Sara had gone but hadn't found her, so he went outside. It was pouring rain when he finally spotted her, and it was three blocks from the lab.

"Sara!" he called again. "Sara!"

She slowly turned, as if she were moving in Jell-O. She recognized Grissom and turned away. She started to walk away from him, but couldn't. She couldn't do to him what he had done to her. So she stopped, but did not turn around. She would wait for Grissom, as she had done countless times before.

**OoOoOoO**

He'd seen her turn away; seen the look in her eyes, even from where he had been standing. And it broke his heart to see her like that, to see her remembering. She was remembering him saying no, that he couldn't be with her. She'd asked him out for dinner, and he'd rather sharply declined. He'd had to tell her without words that he wouldn't be with her, and that he wouldn't and didn't love her; something which he so desperately wanted to do, and did. She'd walked out of his office that night with the same look in her eyes. He didn't know what had brought it back out tonight, but he was determined to find out.

"Sara," he called out for the fourth time. "Are you alright?" He walked towards her, the rain still coming down around them.

She finally turned back around, tears still streaming down her face. "Grissom, why?"

Grissom had no idea what she was talking about, but walked towards her, arms outstretched. "Why what, honey?" he asked. His hands found their way around her shoulders again, holding her in place. She tried to say something, but ended up bursting into tears all over again, and collapsed into him. He didn't know why she was crying, and he didn't know how to help her.

He did his best to console her, rubbing his hands up and down her back, saying, "Sara, honey, calm down. It's okay, I'm here." He held her close, his face in her wet hair. "Shh… honey…"

He slowly turned her around, and took her hand. They needed to get out of the rain. He started walking to the nearest place he could see. A hotel. It wasn't one of those nice ones like on the Strip, but it was good enough, considering the situation they were in. He gently guided her into the building, soaking wet and cold.

At the front desk, he asked for a suite. "A room for one night, please," he said, handing the woman his credit card.

The woman behind the desk - her nameplate said Dorthy - looked at Grissom disbelievingly. The woman with him was gorgeous and young, and he was old and okay-looking. It didn't make sense. She shook her head. What some people would do for some action was lost on her.

"Here you are sir," she said, handing two room keys to him. "Have a pleasant stay."

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom led Sara to the elevators on the other side of the lobby. "What are we doing?" she asked slowly, looking around. "And where are we?"

"We're going to our hotel room," he answered, pressing the up button. "And we're at the Hills Hotel."

"Why?"

"Because it was closer than the lab," he explained, squeezing her hand. "And I really didn't want to walk back there in the pouring rain. How about you?" She shook her head slightly. "And… the other reason is that we can start over here. We've both spent amounts of time at each other's places, so this is new."

"Start over?" she asked, looking wary. "Start over on what?"

Grissom squeezed her hand again. "Let's just wait till we get to the room, okay? Then we'll talk."

* * *

**A/N 2:** I know it says that Grissom is "okay-looking", but I have to tell you, if I was a desk clerk and he walked in, I'd be jealous as hell of _any_ woman with him. Grissom is not just "okay-looking". He's freakin' hot! Ladies, I know you agree! So, William Petersen and Jorja Fox, if you are reading this, I think you are incredibly sexy and absolutely gorgeous, respectively. ;-) 


	5. Chapter Five

They rode the rest of the elevator in silence. Grissom was still holding Sara's hand when they arrived at their room. He opened the door and led her to the bed, sitting her down. He took her jacket off and placed it on a hanger to dry. In the bathroom, he found a towel and wrapped it tightly around her, hoping it would soak up some of the rain in her clothes.

Kneeling down to look at her, he said, "You're beautiful, Sara. And you know that I love you, right?"

She looked away. "I know," she said quietly. "I know."

Grissom sat down beside her on the bed. "Are you okay? You seem kind of distant… far away." There was concern mixed with compassion written all over his face.

When she shook her head and stayed silent, he stood to return to the bathroom, grabbing a towel to dry himself off with.

He returned to the main part of the room to find Sara quietly crying. She looked up as he walked in. "Grissom," she whispered. "I'm not okay," she admitted. "I want you to tell me everything. To let me in. Take down the walls. Explain yourself to me. Explain what the hell goes on inside that head of yours."

Grissom sighed. He knew that this was going to come up at some point in their relationship, and he had been dreading it. How could he explain himself and his actions to her? He could barely explain them to himself. He did not, could not, talk about it, but he knew he owed Sara an explanation. He'd led her on for too long. She deserved to know everything.

She was staring at him expectantly. "Grissom?"

He sat down beside her again. "Okay. What first?"

She took a deep breath. "First… why you turned me down after the lab explosion." He tensed, and she noticed. "What?"

The reason he'd said no to her was because he'd thought he was finally going deaf, and he didn't want the extra responsibility hanging over her head. She hadn't even known about the surgery. Only Catherine had. This was going to be rough explaining.

"After the lab explosion… Sara… this is hard." She nodded at him, understanding. "You know that my mother is deaf, right?"

She nodded, looking confused. It wasn't a fact that was widely known, but she knew of it now, after he'd let her in, and she began to learn little pieces of him and his past. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, the reason my mother is deaf is because she had otosclerosis… a hereditary disease that makes you lose your hearing over a period of time."

Sara looked up at him, stunned. "You mean… you were… oh my God." She clamped a hand over her mouth, looking at him with terrified eyes.

"I was going deaf, yes." He put a hand over hers. "But I had surgery, and I'm fine now. I promise. But the reason was that I didn't want anyone to worry about me, or think I was contagious or - and I especially didn't want to worry you, because if the surgery hadn't worked… well… I'd be deaf. Probably, anyway."

"Did _anyone_ know?" she asked, staring at him.

"Only Catherine. She knew about my mother and my chances of also developing it. She came to the hospital to see me. After Lockwood died, I had the surgery."

"Grissom," she whispered, all anger gone at the thought that he'd gone through that all by himself. "Did you love me then?"

"Sara, I can't remember a time when I didn't love you."

"Then why didn't you tell me? I could have helped you… with everything…"

He pulled her into a hug, squeezing her tightly. "I didn't want to worry anyone, Sara. It wasn't your responsibility, or anyone else's. I was scared. I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to pity me."

Sara sat quietly in Grissom's embrace. She couldn't believe what they were doing. They were having an actual conversation, clearing up some things that had been hanging over their heads for years. And to have him confessing these things, letting her in, it still came as a surprise. But he trusted her now.

"Scared?" she asked. "Of what?"

"Of you."

She lifted her head up off of his shoulder to stare at him. "What?"

"Of something happening to you. What would happen if I lost you. If we were involved, I don't know how I'd react if you…" He stopped talking to look at her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Grissom," she whispered. "I'm not going to leave you, if that's what you think."

"That's not what I mean Sara," he choked out, tears forming.

"So now you know what you'll do if I die?" she asked, realizing what he was saying.

"No. I don't. But… I know that I won't die with regret over my head of not telling you that I love you. And I know that you will have died knowing someone loved you unconditionally…"

"Hey," she said, gently wiping away the few tears that had turned his ocean blue eyes a dark and sad navy. "I'm not going anywhere. Let's move this conversation back to some less heartbreaking topics, okay?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood around them.

He tightened his grip on her. "When you asked me to dinner, I had to say no because I had a doctor's appointment. And I was confused. When I said no, you have no idea how much it tore at my heart and ate at me from the inside. But I couldn't hurt you like that, to say no and then retreat again."

She pulled slightly away from him. "You did hurt me, though. A lot."

"I know, honey, I know. And I'm sorry. I really, really am. I didn't mean to." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. "I didn't mean to."

Sara looked up into his eyes. "What made you tell me? Why, after all these years, did you _finally_ decide I was worth it?"

He coughed slightly. "You're the most important person in the world to me Sara. I thought that maybe, if I told you that, I'd still have a chance," he said, avoiding her question.

She didn't push. "You always had a chance, Grissom."

"Did I?" he asked, looking at her. She nodded. "Oh… well… that's good to know, I guess…" he smiled slightly.

"How about Terri? Or Lady Heather? Or Sofia, even?" she asked suddenly, looking wary as the words came from her mouth.

"What about them?"

"Why could you date them and not me?"

"I didn't 'date' them."

"Why could you 'go out' with them then, and not me?"

"Because, Sara… they were different from you, or you're different than them. Terri was a friend. We went out only a few times; she didn't even live in Vegas. When she came back to the lab a couple of years ago, she was married. And I only asked Sofia out that one time. When she was new."

"And Lady Heather?"

He swallowed audibly. "Heather… Heather was… a…distraction," he said finally.

"From what, exactly?"

"You."

Sara's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Lady Heather, she - she distracted me from you. When you were overpowering my brain, my heart… confusing me… she helped me. Sara… I can't explain what we had… but, it helped me, I suppose."

She couldn't believe it. He'd just admitted to sleeping with Lady Heather. Because of her. She was confused and more than just a little bit angry. "I don't get it. _Sleeping_ with Lady Heather helped you realize that you loved me?"

"No, Sara… no. She helped me get over some inner demons, some things that I thought were wrong with myself. But I never loved her. I never loved any of them. That I need you to understand. Though I care for her… you are the only one I've ever cared for this much. It kind of scares me, actually…"

"Alright, fine. Let's back up to Sofia. Why, exactly, did you ask her out?" Sara was done hearing about Lady Heather. She'd never actually met the woman, but she'd heard around the lab that she was kind of creepy yet strangely sexy. Not something she needed to know.

"Like I said, because she was new. And I wanted her to feel welcome with the group."

Sara exploded again, as she had in his office. Standing up abruptly, she said, "So taking her out to dinner on a one-on-one dinner with her then-supervisor is getting comfortable with the group. I get it. Sorry." She glared at him. "You never took _me_ out to dinner when I came to the rescue," she added, hating herself for sounding as whiny as she did.

"Sara," he said, unable to stop the smile forming across his lips. "You're _in love_ with your supervisor."

She stared at him, anger radiating off of her body. "That's different."

"Really? How?"

"Because," she said angrily, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I was in love with you _before_ you were my supervisor. Years before. And last time I checked, you were in love with me as well, so I don't know what you're getting at. Unless that's _changed_ recently."

The smile fell from his face."I _am_ in love with you Sara. That hasn't changed. It won't change," he whispered. "People were saying things about her, and I didn't want her to feel like an outcast," he explained, gently guided her back to the bed.

"When you came here after Holly was shot, I knew you'd be alright. You knew at least one person, and you let negative criticism roll off your back. It's always been something I've admired, actually. But I know you don't care what people think of you, so you could handle it."

"That's not true, you know. What you said about not caring what people think of me," she said, leaning into him again despite the anger in her heart.

"It's not?"

"No, it's not! I care what certain people think of me… like you," she told him.

He was stunned. "You care what _I _think of you?"

"Of course I do! I was always afraid of what you thought of me, if I was doing things right and always trying to impress you. Trying to be that 'star pupil' you thought I was. It's hard you know, trying to get the one you love to pay attention to you when they're always so busy with their work," she said quietly.

Grissom saw the look on her face and began to kick himself mentally. Again he had not realized how much and how deeply he had hurt Sara over the years. He knew that it would be tough to make this relationship wok, but he was determined that it would.

"Sara," he whispered, pulling her closer. "I'm sorry, sorry for everything I've _ever_ done to hurt you. I didn't mean to, it was an accident…" his voice trailed off. "I'm so sorry."

She didn't say anything for a moment, and just sat there. Then, finally, she whispered, "I'm sorry too, Grissom."

Grissom suddenly felt exhausted, as if all the air in him had gone out. He could see that Sara needed sleep as well. He gently pushed her down onto the bed.

"Honey, we both need rest," he said, pulling the covers up around her. "We'll sleep tonight, and tomorrow I'll take you home for a new set of clothes, and a shower, okay?"

She just nodded, already half asleep. He took off his sweater and lowered himself onto the bed beside her. "Goodnight, dear," was the last thing he said before falling asleep.


	6. Chapter Six

_Chapter Six_

It seemed like only minutes had gone by when Grissom and Sara were awakened by the sound of gunshots in the room next to theirs.

"Sara!" Grissom whispered urgently. "Stay down!" He grabbed her arm to pull her back down onto the bed. She had gotten up faster than Grissom had ever seen her move. She was holding her gun and moving towards the door. He leapt up and ran to block her path. "Sara, no!"

She looked at him, her gun still drawn. "Why not?" she asked. "There are people in there, and they could be dying! We need to help them!"

"Sara!" Grissom called over her rising voice. "Sara!"

"What!?" she shouted. "What do you want?"

"For you to be safe, Sara, and not to get hurt," he answered quietly. "I can't see you get hurt."

"Grissom, we all signed a contract, about injury or death on the job…" she said, calming down a bit.

"Yes, we all did," Grissom told her. "But right now, you're not on the job. You're off the clock. You're with me, and it's personal. _I _won't stand by and watch you put yourself in danger. I love you, and I don't want anything to happen to you. We will call 911, and wait for a CSI call if it comes, okay?"

Sara nodded slowly and sat back down on the bed.

**OoOoOoO**

The CSI call came faster than either one of them expected. Half an hour later, Brass had called Grissom to the scene with his team.

"Meet me there in twenty," Brass had said.

Grissom replied, "I'll be there in ten," before hanging up. He turned to Sara. "We have to walk back to the lab for our stuff, but I'll grab the car and we can drive back."

Sara was up and ready. "Let's go."

**OoOoOoO**

The walk back to the lab seemed shorter than it had been last night, but Sara suspected that it was because it wasn't pouring and that she and Grissom were on better terms than they'd been on last night. She was still pissed off about the split up teams, but their talk had washed away a lot of bad things. She was in a good mood today.

They made their way quickly through the lab, picking up their cases and anything extra that might be needed.

Outside in the parking lot, they loaded everything into Grissom's Denali. Climbing in, he said, "Come on, I'll drive."

"Of course you will," Sara teased. "Don't trust me?"

"I trust you," he replied, starting the car. "I just want to drive, that's all." He gave her a smile. "Hurry up; we're going to be late for Brass."

"You're such a guy," she said, climbing in. "Now drive."


	7. Chapter Seven

_Chapter Seven_

The ride back to the hotel took only about five minutes, but when they arrived, Brass was already there and had cleared the scene.

"How do you do it, Brass?" Sara asked, as she and Grissom approached the room next to the one they had just been in.

Brass looked up at the sound of Sara's voice. "Sara?" he asked, looking confused. "What are you doing here? This isn't your case." He turned to Grissom. "Gil? Want to explain why Sara is on your crime scene? Especially when you said last night that there would be no switching of CSI's?"

Grissom looked extremely uncomfortable. "Oh well… we were… uh, together when you called…" he started to explain.

Sara interrupted. "Brass? I thought Griss asked you to work with Catherine when you could. And Sofia was to work with Grissom? And yet," she paused to stare at him. "You're here… without Sofia."

Brass took a step towards Sara. "I'm here, Sara, because I'm the senior cop on graveyard. Sofia is not. I'm on every crime scene we're called to. That's my job." Sara went to say something else, but stopped when Brass took another step towards her.

Grissom stepped in between the two, his back to Sara. "Jim, leave her alone. She was with me when you called, we're both CSI's, and we both responded to your call."

"No Gil!" Brass said, his voice rising. "I'm tired of you covering your girlfriend, your relationship and yourself. It's time you get your head back into your work! And I want Sidle off this crime scene now!"

Sara went to say something, but Grissom took her arm and led her away down the hall. Whispering, he said, "Honey, you need to go home. Jim's right, I can't break my own rules. Not even for you."

He smiled at her, but she could see that he was worried. Brass had implied that they were dating, and they'd both agreed early on to not tell anyone until they were both ready. If people started to suspect, and point it out in public, then there may be problems.

He turned away, but Sara put a hand on his shoulder. He turned slowly back around, and she rubbed his cheek discreetly. "Chalk," she whispered, with a smile and a wink. "See you back at the lab."

Grissom smiled as she turned away. It disappeared when he turned around to see Brass staring at him.

He made his way back down the hallway to where Brass was standing. "Nick, Greg and Sofia are on their way. When I called the boys, they were both asleep. But Sofia was at the lab, she'll be right here. Nick and Greg are coming in anyway."

"Good. I'll start processing now," Grissom said, walking onto the scene.

**OoOoOoO**

Minutes later, Grissom was joined by Nick and Greg, Sofia on their tail. He caught the conversation going on between the two men, and froze.

"I'm telling you Greg, that was Sara we saw in the lobby. But what she was doing here, I don't know. You don't think she was _with_ someone, do you?" Nick looked thoughtful for a moment.

Greg looked downcast. "Nick you're being mean on purpose. Don't tell me things like Sara going out with another guy. It just breaks my heart." He placed a hand over his heart in mock agony.

"Guys?" Grissom said, approaching them and Sofia.

"Grissom?" Sofia asked, looking up when he approached. "About that thing I wanted to talk to you about earlier… I was just wondering –"

Grissom cut her off. "Later Sofia. We've got work to do. Go talk to the witnesses. Nick, Greg, process the scene. I'll help you in a minute. First, I have to talk to David."

He walked over to where David Phillips, the assistant coroner, was crouched beside a dead body. "What do we have here, David?" he asked.

"Caucasian male, age twenty-eight and no ID. Three gunshot wound to the chest," Brass answered.

Grissom looked up. "Thank you, Jim. But I asked David."

"Well –" Brass said, cut off by his ringing phone. He picked it up and listened a bit. "We've got another DB on the other side of the Strip. I'll leave soon and be out of your way."

He punched a number into his phone. "Catherine? It's Brass. DB on the Strip. I know it's your night off, but Grissom's already working on another one at a hotel near the lab. Call Sara and Warrick. I'll meet you there in a bit. I have to talk to Grissom."

He hung up after giving Catherine the address and other information. He looked around for Grissom, but he had already walked away and was helping Greg and Nick.

_Whatever. I'll talk to Gil later, about Sara and whatever the hell is going on between them._ He turned around and headed back to his car; off to the other side of the Strip.

* * *

**A/N 3:** I don't hate Brass, or Sofia. I don't know why I wrote Brass as such an ass in this story, but I did. So if you're a "Brass-lover" then please don't hate me! I really do like him. I guess I was just tired, or something... and I don't hate Sofia, contrary to popular belief. There's nothing wrong with her anymore. She's just another cop. She stopped going after Grissom. Smart move...


	8. Chapter Eight

_Chapter Eight_

Sara was in the parking lot of the lab when her cell phone rang. "Sidle."

"It's Catherine. Brass just called me with a DB on the Strip. Do you need a ride? I'm picking up Warrick now; we could swing by your apartment…"

"Thanks, Cath, but I'm good. I'll be there in just a couple of minutes," Sara said, climbing into her car. "See you soon."

Sara hung up and looked around. When she had moved to Vegas seven years ago, she'd come with almost nothing. Grissom had called for help when one of his CSI's had been shot on the job. She'd come willingly, happy to be back with the infamous Dr. Grissom.

She'd taken one of the seminars he'd given at Harvard one year, and had fallen for him then and there. They'd spent some time together afterwards, and he'd said he would call her if he ever needed help. She had wanted to believe that was true, but coming from the second best lab in the country, she seriously doubted that he would even remember her name as soon as he had landed in back Vegas. But, the call had come, and she'd flown to Las Vegas for him. And here she was, seven years later, still in Sin City.

She looked around her car again, pulling it out onto the road and thinking that she could totally afford something nicer. Grissom had helped her get a car, and an apartment. Now, she could even probably afford a nicer apartment. But she didn't want one. The car and apartment held too many 'Grissom' memories to get rid of.

She stopped at a red light and noticed that the sun was coming up. The conversation in Grissom's office only hours before seemed like days ago. She then realized how much she wanted to go home. Go home, sleep, shower and get a new set of clothes. Their conversation must have lasted hours, she felt like she hadn't slept for more than half an hour.

The light turned green and she stepped on the gas pedal. _I'll go home after I process the scene. Get the evidence back to the lab, and then go home for a shower and clothes._

**OoOoOoO**

She pulled up to a house with cop cars surrounding the entire perimeter. She grabbed her kit and jumped out of the car.

She made her way into the house, being pointed to the second floor by a cop on duty. "Body's up there," he told her.

Catherine was standing in the hall, waiting for the younger CSI. Seeing her arrive, she called, "Sara!"

Sara walked over to where the blonde was standing, flanked by Warrick and Brass. "Hey Sara," Warrick called out in greeting. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"Tell me about it," she said, smiling. "I don't think I got more than a half an hour's sleep. You?"

"Not a whole lot. Cath? How about you?"

Catherine looked up from the body she was now crouched beside. "Me? Virtually none. Lindsey was sick, puking her guts out, it seemed."

Warrick looked concerned. "Is she going to be okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. She'll be fine. Just the flu, it's going around. She's with her grandma now." She switched to professional mode. "Brass, what have we got here? It looks like suicide to me."

Brass stepped forward, addressing Catherine and Warrick, but clearly ignoring Sara. "We have a young Hispanic boy, about eighteen. No ID."

Sara crouched down beside the body. She put on some gloves and reached into the victim's pocket. "No wallet, no ID. Do you think robbery was a motive?"

"Not if it was suicide, Sara," Brass answered coolly.

Sara looked up. "So you've ruled out everything but suicide? How can you be so sure?"

Brass took something out of his pocket. "There was a note," he explained, handing it to Catherine.

She took the note and read out loud, "'Dear Mom, Dad, friends and family. Life is just too hard, and I don't want to do this anymore. So goodbye.'" She folded the note back up and placed it into an evidence bag. "It _is_ a suicide note," she said.

"So?" Sara argued. "He could have been forced to write it by whoever killed him!"

"Wow, calm down, Sara," Brass said, smirking. He turned to Catherine and Warrick. "She's a bit bitchy because I pulled her away from Grissom earlier."

"Grissom?" Catherine repeated. "What were you doing with him? I thought he gave us the night off."

Sara ignored the stare Brass was giving her, and turned to Catherine. "We were talking. I stayed after the meeting to speak with him. We apparently talked for a long time, as we were both still at the lab when Grissom got called in," she lied.

Brass piped up, "If you were _both_ at the lab, why would you go with him? Why not stay there, or better yet, go home?"

"Because," Sara said, starting to get annoyed. "We were both used to going to crime scenes together. It was just out of habit."

She didn't dare say anything more. She had a pretty good feeling that Brass was getting tired of her, and he might go so far as to check lab security to see if they had actually been there.

She wouldn't tell anyone that they had been at the hotel, or anything. She needed to talk to Grissom, but she didn't dare phone him now. She would wait until they were both back at the lab. Then it wouldn't look suspicious.

Sara pushed thoughts of Grissom away and said, "Well, now that we're done with _my_ interrogation, can we process the scene?"

Catherine seemed to snap out of a trance. "You're right Sara. Let's go."


	9. Chapter Nine

_Chapter Nine_

On the other side of the Strip at the Hills Hotel, Grissom and his team had just finished processing the hotel room. Grissom was thinking of Sara when Sofia came up behind him, rather closely. They were outside of the hotel, standing on the front sidewalk.

"Grissom," Sofia whispered in his ear. "Can I talk to you?" Without waiting for an answer, she took his hand and led him away from Nick, Greg, and the rest of the spectators who had gathered outside.

Grissom was very aware of Sofia's hand within his. It felt awkward, big, as if it didn't fit. He thought of Sara's hands, how nice and beautiful they were. Even though she wore latex gloves a lot, they were always so smooth, and silky. But what he loved most about Sara's hands was that they fit within his. There was no awkwardness, nor had there ever been. They had always been like that.

_This is wrong,_ he thought.He tried to pull his hand from her grasp, but she held on tight. _Of course she has a firm grip. She's a freaking cop!_

Sofia stopped abruptly, and Grissom nearly walked into her. But he caught his balance, knowing any unnecessary body contact was bad. "So, Grissom," she said, letting go of his hand and turning around to look at him. "Sara and I had a conversation after the meeting last night, and I learned a few things."

Grissom swallowed nervously. _No. They did not talk about us. Sara would not say anything. She was in complete agreement that we wouldn't tell anyone until we were both ready. And I'm not ready._

Biting back his fears, he said, "Really? What did you learn?"

"You know, I know, Sara knows – we _all_ know – that people are saying some… interesting things about the two of you. That you're dating. Sleeping together, even. I was curious about the rumours. So I confronted Sara. As you may recall, I attempted to talk to you as well, but you ran out after her."

Grissom nodded. "Yes. I went after Sara. She was crying; obviously upset."

Sofia stared at him. "Why couldn't she wait two minutes? Why couldn't _you_ wait two minutes?"

"Because, Sofia," Grissom said, getting tired of their conversation and her poking into his personal life, "Sara can get a bit… self destructive when she's upset. I wanted to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid, and to see if she was alright."

"Why?"

He sighed. He had thought that Sofia was a smart woman, but for some reason, she had decided to let her selfish – and stupid – side out tonight. "Because I care about her, and her well being."

He turned away from her to walk back to the front of the hotel, but she grabbed his arm. "Don't leave. Sara said that you weren't dating anyone. That you were single, not involved with anyone... especially not her. So do you want to have dinner with me sometime?"

Grissom stopped short. They were almost the exact same words that Sara had said to him over four years ago. Then, he'd had to say no. And again, he would have to say no. But this time, it wouldn't hurt. He wouldn't go on with his life heartbroken, and he wouldn't lean on Catherine to pick up the pieces. This time, he wouldn't go home to an empty house, but to one with a beautiful woman in it, a woman who had always loved him.

He stared at her. "No thanks, Sofia. I've already got someone to have dinner with."

Sofia stood rooted to the spot, shocked. "But I thought…"

Grissom talked over her. "Back to the lab, okay? We need to get this case solved."

"Uh… I'll be back in a little bit. I'm just going to take… a walk." The blonde cop turned from Grissom and started to walk away.

"Okay. I want you back at the lab soon though!" he called after her retreating form. She nodded slowly before disappearing into the crowd of people who had gathered outside the hotel.


	10. Chapter Ten

_Chapter Ten_

Sara and Catherine were processing the bedroom of the victim when Sara asked, "Why does Brass hate me so much?"

Catherine was a little taken aback by the question, but quickly regained her composure. "He doesn't hate you, Sara. Why would you think that?"

"Because he's always on my ass for everything. Last week, I was in Grissom's office for twenty minutes, and he came in and threw me out."

"Why were you in Grissom's office for twenty minutes?" Catherine asked, thinking back to the conversation in the break room earlier that night.

"We were going over my evaluation for Ecklie. And Ecklie, he hates me too! What the hell!?" Sara exclaimed, throwing down her evidence bag.

"Sara! Brass doesn't hate you. And Ecklie… well, Ecklie hates everyone. So don't take it personally." Catherine's attempts to calm Sara down weren't working. "And Jim, well, I think he's been a little on edge since the… shooting. Sara, it's not your fault. We'll talk more later, if you want to. But right now, let's focus on our job. We'll process the scene, and not worry about Brass or Grissom's crime scene –" She stopped when Sara whipped her head around.

"What did you just say?" she whispered.

"That we'll process our scene and talk later," Catherine said slowly.

"No, about Grissom's crime scene…"

"Oh. I said not to worry about Brass, or Grissom's crime scene – why?" Catherine was clearly confused.

"Damnit!" Sara shouted, bolting to the door.

"Sara!" Catherine yelled. "Get back here!" She wasn't listening. "Sara! As your acting supervisor, I order you to come back! You'll be on leave! With no pay!" Catherine threatened. But Sara was gone.

Warrick came running up the stairs. "Cath, what's going on? Why are you shouting at Sara?" He looked around the room they'd been processing. "Where _is_ Sara?"

"She's gone! I said something about Brass, and Grissom's crime scene, and then she was gone."

Warrick massaged Catherine's shoulders, easing some of the tension out of them. "Catherine. It'll be okay. She'll come back. And if she doesn't, we can finish up here together. We can meet her back at the lab."

Catherine nodded slowly and went back to processing the room with Warrick at her side.

**OoOoOoO**

Standing in the mansion's driveway, Sara ran a hand through her hair. She was relieved to find that Brass had left the scene, and that Catherine hadn't followed her.

Getting into her car, she pulled her phone out and dialled Grissom's cell. When he didn't pick up, she swore and threw the phone down onto the passenger seat. Frustrated, Sara backed out of the driveway and turned onto the street.

_To do a full investigation, you need to question potential witnesses. Grissom and I are potential witnesses. But nobody can know that. I have to make sure Grissom does security tapes. People can't know we were at the hotel. Too many complications will arise. Hopefully they won't need to look at them,_ she thought. _Yeah, right. Like they won't need to look at them. Great..._

She switched lanes, and turned left, on her way back to the lab.


	11. Chapter Eleven

_Chapter Eleven_

Grissom had only just sat down at his desk when Sara came crashing through the door with Brass and Ecklie on her tail. She slammed the door behind her and quickly locked it.

"Sidle! Open this door now!" Ecklie shouted.

"No," Brass shouted at Ecklie. "She won't open it. Grissom! Open the door!"

Grissom looked from the door to Sara, whose eyes were blazing. "Don't do it," she whispered.

"I have to, Sara," he replied quietly. He stood up an unlocked the door, letting in his two very pissed off coworkers.

"Gil!" Ecklie hissed as Brass went towards Sara. "What the hell is she doing here!?"

Grissom heard Ecklie's question, but didn't answer it. He had moved his body in between Sara and Brass, yet again. Sara was leaning against the wall, with Grissom's back to her. Brass kept walking forward, ignoring the fact that Grissom was blocking his way.

Sara was pinned against the wall by Grissom's body before he reacted. "Jim!" he shouted, pushing his friend away from him. Brass stumbled a bit but caught his balance.

Grissom turned around quickly to examine Sara for any damage. Putting a hand on her shoulder, he whispered, "Sara, are you alright?"

She nodded slowly, rubbing her arms where most of Grissom's weight had been. "I'm okay," she told him. "You?"

Grissom nodded as well, and indicated to her arms. "Sorry about that."

"Not like it's never happened before," she whispered, smiling.

He gave her a small smile in return before turning back around to face Ecklie and Brass. His face turned cold. "Can _someone_ please tell me why there was just an almost-fight in my office and why, Jim, for the second time in twelve hours you've gone for Sara!?"

Ecklie spoke up. "Because she is not supposed to be here. She is _supposed_ to be on a scene with Willows and Brown! Instead, she is here, looking for you."

"Conrad, there is no problem whatsoever with her being in my office. Neither of you have any control over who is in my office or for how long anyone is in my office." He gave Brass a pointed look. Then he turned to Sara. "Sara," he said softly. "Are you supposed to be on a crime scene with Warrick and Catherine?" She nodded. "Okay. Then go back to the scene, and I'll deal with you later."

Sara knew that the dismissive tone in his voice was only for show; they were at work. But even knowing that, hearing it didn't make it hurt any less. "Grissom, I need -"

Grissom locked his eyes with hers, a plea noticeable. "Sara?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Without another word, she walked around his desk and out the office door.

**OoOoOoO**

She didn't get very far before being confronted by Warrick. "Sara?" he called out tentatively. "We're done at the scene, obviously. Catherine wants you in autopsy."

_Good. Warrick didn't mention that I left a crime scene spontaneously, so neither will I,_ she thought gratefully. She thanked him and quickly made her way towards the locker room.

She was not happy to find Sofia there, sitting by herself. _Just ignore her. I don't say anything, she doesn't say anything._ Sara didn't need any mental reminding to ignore Sofia. It seemed like she was lost in her own little world. Sara went about her business, taking off her jacket and running a brush through her hair.

Just as she was about to leave, Sofia decided to speak up. "Have you ever been rejected by Grissom, Sara?"

She froze with her hand on the door handle. In her heart, she could feel all her old, raw emotions welling up. Her anger, sadness, and confusion. She was about to tear a strip off of Sofia for being so nosey, but she told herself to stay calm.

"Why?" she asked, without turning around.

"Because I just was, and I wanted to know if you could relate," she answered, leaning back against the lockers.

Sara could relate to Sofia in more ways than the cop could ever imagine. With Grissom, anyway. But she wasn't going to let Sofia know that.

She stood there, staring at the door, not knowing what to say. Of course she had been rejected by Grissom, and it had hurt her so much and so deeply that she couldn't feel anything emotionally for weeks. But she'd been in love with him when he had said no, so it hurt that much more.

She had always been in love with him, from the beginning. Even after he'd showed that he wasn't interested, she didn't let go. She couldn't get over him. And then Dr. Lurie had come along, and brought out a whole new side of Grissom she had never seen before. She had dated other guys to get over him, but it just wasn't the same. They weren't Grissom.

She could only think of one thing to say, and she was terrified of the answer Sofia would give her. "Do you love him?"

Sofia looked up to stare at her. "Excuse me?"

Sara took a deep breath before repeating, "Do you love him?"

Sofia looked down at her hands. "I don't know. I don't think so… but I do really like him. It's hard to tell with him sometimes. Some days you think you do, and then some days you think you don't. What about you? Do you love him?"

Sara sighed. She was going to be _so_ late for Catherine in autopsy. "Sofia? I thought we already had this conversation. Earlier tonight? After the meeting?"

"We talked, yeah. But I never did ask if you loved him. So… do you?"

Sara's lying instincts kicked in once again. "Me? No. I've never loved Grissom, or been in love with him. Nor do I ever plan on being in love with him. Look, I have to go. Catherine's waiting for me in autopsy, and I've already pissed her off once today. I don't want to do it again by being later than I already am. So I'll see you later." She picked up her things and quickly left the room.

"Liar," Sofia said to the empty room.


	12. Chapter Twelve

_Chapter Twelve_

Grissom was getting tired of Brass and Ecklie ragging on Sara and how much time he spent with her. It was stupid and unethical, and not helping his head in any way shape or form. He expected it from Conrad, but coming from Jim, it was surprising.

"She's in here all the time."

"… only completes half of her work…"

"Only does a half-assed job…"

"Enough!" shouted Grissom, startling both of his coworkers into silence. "Sara is on _my_ nightshift, therefore she is _my_ responsibility. But if you have a problem with her, don't come whining to me. Go talk to her yourself. She's a big girl, and I'm sure she can stomach whatever it is you have to say. Now leave. I have work to do."

"But Gil -" Brass started.

"No, Jim. I don't want to hear it," Grissom said slowly.

Ecklie turned to Brass as they stood up to leave. "The only reason he doesn't want to hear what we have to say about Sara is because they're sleeping together! I know, right? And he thinks she's just this perfect angel, who can do no wrong. And when people point out her bad qualities – which are _all_ of her qualities – he just blocks them out. Because she's his _precious _Sara, his _beloved _Sara… the only other living thing he could love besides bugs. She hasn't seen what other guys are out there… he just sucked her in…"

"You know what she is?" he asked, turning around to face Grissom. "She's a loose cannon with a gun. And she's all yours."

Grissom stood up so fast that he almost knocked over his desk. He grabbed Ecklie and pulled him inches from his face. "Don't you _ever_ speak of Sara like that again. Do you understand?" he shouted. He dropped Ecklie and turned to Brass. "Get him out of here. I don't want to see him in this lab for another two weeks. Send him home and then come back. We need to talk."

Ecklie was at least smart enough to not fight Grissom. Getting up slowly, he walked out the door. Getting kicked out by his sworn nemisis of the lab was not something he wanted to repeat.

Grissom waited for Ecklie to leave before turning his attention back to Brass. He pointed to a chair opposite his desk. "Sit down."

Brass did as he was told, and sat down. "What is going on?"

"You want to know why I spend so much time with Sara?"

Brass nodded, afraid to speak again.

"Then I'll tell you. I spend a lot of time with Sara because I care about her. A lot. We've been friends for a _very_ long time, and we are closer than most coworkers because of that friendship. She has no family out here, nor do I. We both are originally from San Francisco, and only have each other to remind ourselves of home. Because we are close does not mean we are dating, or sleeping together."

"We go out for coffee once in a while when we're not working, which isn't very often. Sara is a bit self-destructive when things go wrong. We keep each other grounded, and that's as far as it goes. Got it?" Again, Brass nodded. "Good. One more thing. I think you should take some time off as well. I'm giving you two weeks, paid leave. I don't want to see you back in this lab."

"But you don't have the power…" Brass started to say.

"I'll talk to your supervisor. I'm sure he'll agree. Have a holiday, Jim. Ever since the… accident, you've been a bit on… edge. Go home. Relax. I'll see you in two weeks."

Brass sighed and left the office.

* * *

**A/N 4:** I know Griss isn't the kind of guy who would just spaz and loose it like that, but I felt the need to write Grissom defending his Sara, just because he loves her _SO_ much! ;-) I know it's out of character, but, just deal with it for me, 'kay? Awesome. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

_Chapter Thirteen_

"You're late," Catherine said as Sara ran into the morgue.

"I know, I know, and I'm sorry," she apologized, pulling on a cover-up. "Sofia caught me in the locker room. But I got here as quickly as possible."

"What did Sofia want to talk to you about?" Catherine asked.

Sara looked up. What was with everyone poking around in everyone else's business? Was it national nosey day or something? "Uh… she asked me about Grissom, actually. Why?"

"Oh, because she cornered me in the locker room earlier too. Asked me if I'd ever been rejected by Grissom or something. Kind of weird, actually…" Catherine said, staring off into space.

"And have you ever been rejected by Gil?" Dr. Robbins asked as he walked into the morgue.

Catherine glared at him playfully. "That shall remain private information that only members of Catherine's private group can access. Sorry."

"Aren't I a member? Doc asked.

"You wish," Catherine answered, smirking.

"What about Sara? Is she a member? Can you tell her?"

Catherine smiled. "Even if she was, I couldn't tell her right now, because, hello, you're standing right here! So it doesn't matter."

Sara laughed at the doctor's confused expression. "Dr. Robbins? What exactly do we have?"

The doctor pulled on his gloves and got to work. "Well, he is a young Hispanic boy, aged nineteen. We got ID off of dental records. His name is Jason Lee Wruald. Definitely looks like suicide. Possible overdose."

"Do you have an official TOD and COD?" Sara asked, examining the boy.

"Yes… yes. We do. Cause of death was overdose. Time of death is a bit harder, but I think we can safely say around twelve hours ago." Dr. Robbins looked at the two women in front of him. "That would put time of death a around…"

Sara looked at her watch. "Nine o' clock last night. We were all still at the lab! Why didn't anyone call it in?"

Catherine sighed sadly. "Because no one noticed. Doc, is there anything else we need to know?"

"How about stomach contents?" he asked, smirking. "There were a few drugs in his system… Tox screen came back pretty damn high. There was crystal meth, marijuana, cocaine, and more than enough painkillers. Looks like this guy had about seven prescriptions. And those painkillers were heavy duty."

"Also," Dr. Robbins continued, "Along with those drugs, there were a few cough candies, medicine, and… a cheeseburger."

Catherine looked repulsed. "This guy was _sick._ We can officially rule suicide, then?" The Doc nodded. "Okay then. That makes our job a whole lot easier, especially now that Brass is on leave. C'mon, Sara, we'll go find Warrick, and then go to Grissom; see if he needs any help on his hotel man."

"Wait, what?" Sara asked, confused. "Why is Brass on leave?"

"What? Oh, I think Brass and Ecklie both blew up at Grissom about one of us… bit of a mini-scuffle, the way I heard it," Catherine explained. "Anyway, thanks, Doc. See you later." She pushed open the door for herself and Sara, and started to walk down the hall.

**OoOoOoO**

They were about halfway down when they ran into Warrick. "Warrick!" Catherine said, giving him a huge smile. "Just the guy we were looking for. Doc Robbins ruled our guy's death suicide. We're on our way now to Grissom, see what we do next. C'mon."

"Cath, I don't think that's a good idea," he warned. "Grissom is in a _foul_ mood. He all but fired Ecklie before."

Sara's heart lurched momentarily. She didn't know what to do when Grissom was mad, and she had no way of controlling what he did or said when he was that upset. It bothered her a bit, that he could get so mad, but she knew deep down, he was the same Gil Grissom whose heart held hers so tightly in its own. Shaking her head momentarily to rid herself of her cheesy thoughts, she clued herself back in to what Catherine was saying.

"...but he can't _do_ that. He doesn't have the power to do that," Catherine argued.

"Yeah I know, but Ecklie was at least smart enough to listen to Grissom. Even though they hate each other, Ecklie knows that Grissom is respected way more than he is. He wouldn't risk his job for that," Warrick explained. "I heard it got pretty rough in there."

"Well, we won't bother him for long. Just one quick question. Then we're gone," said Catherine, leading the way to Grissom's office.

**OoOoOoO**

Once the three CSI's were outside Grissom's door, Catherine knocked briskly. "Grissom, it's Catherine. I have a question on our new case."

Grissom's voice came back muffled. "Later, Cath. I'm working."

She turned away from the door. "Warrick, your turn," she said.

Warrick knocked on the door. "Grissom? It's Warrick. We solved our case; it was suicide, and we –"

He was cut off by Grissom's response. "Not now. Later."

Sara stepped up to the door and lightly pushed Warrick out of the way. "My turn," she whispered. Knocking on the door, she called out gently, "Griss? It's Sara. We just need to ask you one question. Please open up?"

They heard shuffling behind the door, a lock click, and then the door finally opened. "Come in, but make it quick," he said groggily. "I've got work to do."

"We know, Gil, we know," Catherine said quickly, slipping past him to sitting down in front of his desk. Warrick sat down beside her, and Sara stayed standing. "Okay. Our case has been ruled suicide, so we're done for the day. What next?"

"Cath, Warrick, you go deal with the victim's family. And then go help the day team; they're a bit backed up." He turned to Sara. "Sara, stay here. I need your help on the hotel case. Alright, that's all."

Warrick and Catherine stood up to leave. "See you later then," Warrick said to Sara. She nodded and gave him a smile.

Grissom held the door open. "Thanks, you guys," he said before closing the door. "And good job as well."


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_Chapter Fourteen_

Grissom waited for Catherine and Warrick's footsteps to die away before collapsing onto the couch beside his desk. "Sara? Would you turn off the light and lock the door?"

Sara smiled. "Here, Griss? I thought you wanted to keep us a secret until we were both ready. I mean… they could hear us… or… walk in… and that couch is _so_ not sanitary, or comfortable."

Grissom glared at her. "No, Sara. I have a horrible migraine. I can't even think." His headache had progressed to a migraine quickly after he'd kicked Brass and Ecklie out of his office. For the past half an hour, he'd bee sitting at his desk in the dark, trying - but not succeding - to rid himself of the pain.

Sara brushed the hair off of his forehead. "I figured. I was only teasing. Did you take anything?"

"The light, Sara. And the door."

"Oh. Right. Sorry." She stood up to turn off the light and lock the door.

"And yes, I took everything my doctor has told me to," he said to her in the sudden but comoforting darkness. "I don't want any more disturbances."

She sat down gingerly on the edge of the couch. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked gently.

"No, no." He grabbed her hand. "Stay with me. I need you."

Sara smiled to herself in the dark. Even after months of dating, he still needed her, and it felt good to have him let her know. "Okay then, just get some rest. It usually helps, right?" He nodded and squeezed her hand. "Just get some rest. I'll deal with whoever comes by. And I won't leave."

"Thanks, dear," he whispered, drifting off to sleep.

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom slept for about an hour and a half. And Sara never left his side, either. When Grissom woke up at around ten-thirty, he was groggy.

"Hey," Sara whispered, helping him to sit up on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"Horrible," he answered. "Hand me that water bottle, would you?"

Sara reached over to his desk for the water. Noticing that it had come from her apartment, she smiled. "You know Griss, stealing is not the best policy in a relationship."

"What?"

"The water is from my apartment," she explained. "But don't worry about it. It's only water. Here you go." Handing it to him, she added, "Drink it slow."

When he sat up straight to drink the water, Sara got a good look at him. "Oh my God, Grissom, you look horrible!" she whisper-exclaimed.

"Thanks. I love you too," he managed to say.

"I know. I'm sorry," she whispered, rubbing his cheek. "I do love you. So much. But Griss, honey… you really don't look good. You're really pale and all sweaty. I think it's more than just a headache. You're really sick. C'mon, you've got to go home, and get some more rest."

"Sara," he said, taking a sip of water. "I can't leave in the middle of a case. You know that."

"When you're sick like this, you can. Look, Nick, Greg and I are all on the case now. We can crack it. And if we can't, and _only_ if we can't we'll call for Catherine and Warrick. And then, if we _still_ can't crack it, we'll call you. Deal?" He nodded, but stopped. It was causing him pain. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

When she slipped her hand into his, he was vividly reminded of that night when he had said the same thing to her. She'd been pulled over for a DUI, and he'd had to come pick her up at the station. It was awkward for both of them, and they hadn't spoken of it again.

"Sara," he started to argue.

"Don't argue with me, Grissom," she warned playfully. "You won't win."

"Fine. But _you_ can't drive me home. You're on the clock," he said.

Sara smiled. "Yes, but my supervisor says that it's okay to drive an ill friend home. And that rule even applies to me driving you home as well." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "And, the supervisor says it's okay for me to drive my boyfriend home, especially when he's got a really bad migraine."

Grissom smiled. She had won. "Okay, you can drive me home. But I don't want to go to the townhouse. Let me stay in your apartment. It's nicer. And cosier."

Sara was surprised. No one had ever referred to her apartment as 'cozy' before. But Grissom practically lived there when they weren't at his place, so she was okay with letting him stay there.

She smiled again. "Alright. But on one condition." She raised an eyebrow at him expectantly. "Keep it clean. If I come home and it's an absolute mess, I'm going to kick your ass."

"You'll kiss it better, though, right?" he asked in mock-nervousness, despite the throbbing pain in his head.

She slid off the couch and pulled him up with her. Kissing him softly, she whispered, "Maybe. If it's really bothering you. Come on, let's go."

Sara quickly grabbed his briefcase and laptop. "Take this," she said, holding out the laptop. "I'll take your briefcase." He nodded and took it from her hands. Looking around his office, she said, "I think we have everything. I'll bring home anything we've forgotten."

Grissom nodded again, slower this time. His head was throbbing again. Taking a step forward, he swayed and almost collapsed into Sara. "Whoa, Griss," she said, reaching out to put both of her hands on his chest to steady him. "Be careful. How's your head?"

"Throbbing," Grissom answered.

Sara looked apologetic. "Okay, I'm sorry about this, but when I open the door, it's going to be very loud and very bright. Are you ready?"

Grissom mumbled no, but said, "Just get it over with. I want to leave."

Sara unlocked the door and opened it. She heard Grissom behind her gasp with pain. She took his arm and led him slowly down the hall. "It's okay," she soothed. "I'm here, and it'll be fine. You're okay."

He was walking down the hallway with his eyes closed and Sara holding him tightly. It wasn't long until people started to yell questions out of the rooms on either side of them.

"What's wrong with the boss?"

"You two going out on a date?"

Sara grimaced. She could see that Grissom was getting worse, but did nothing to stop their yelling coworkers. She couldn't. If she yelled back, she'd be yelling in Grissom's ear. If she stopped to talk to everyone, she would be wasting time in getting him home.

Nick came down the hall in front of them, and saw that Grissom was in pain. He ran down the hall, telling everyone to shut up and go back to work. Sara thanked Nick with her eyes, and quickly ushered Grissom through the double doors leading to the parking lot.

Once outside, the blinding Nevada sun did nothing to help Grissom's pain. Grunting slightly, Sara helped him into her car. "Just sit there, fall asleep again, if you want," she told him, leaning in to kiss his forehead. "We'll be gone in a minute."

"Sara!"

"Shit," she muttered, getting out of her car slowly.

"Sara!" the voice called again. This time she recognized it. That Texan accent couldn't be missed: Nick.

"Hey Nicky," she said, turning around. "Thanks for helping us out back there."

Nick looked uncomfortable; like he had seen something he shouldn't have. Which he might have. "Oh, you're welcome." He motioned to Grissom. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's got another migraine, and I think he might be getting the flu. Catherine said it was going around," she explained.

"Right," he said, avoiding her eyes. "Well, do you know when he'll be coming back? We kind of need some help on our case." Nick didn't dare mention what he thought he'd just witnessed between his friend and boss. That was a thought better left for when he could think about it in peace.

Sara grinned. "I'm your help." She walked to the back of her car, and put Grissom's briefcase away. "Our case was ruled suicide. Cath and Warrick are helping the dayshift; Griss said they were a bit backed up. He told me to stay with him, said he needed some help. I'll be back in around an hour. I've got to take him home first, get him all settled in. But then I'll be right back."

Nick smirked. "Typical Grissom," he said.

Sara looked up from the driver's side of her car. "What?"

"Just that whenever you're a potential choice for Griss to work with, he always chooses you."

She smiled and got into the car. "That's not true," she said.

"Oh?" Nick's smirk grew. "How so?"

She started the car. "How about when he made two teams? I'm on Catherine's team, not Grissom's." Nick stood speechless. "That's what I thought. See you in an hour, Nicky!" She backed out of her spot and turned into traffic.

Nick stood stock-still for a good minute. "Damn, she's good!" he muttered finally, walking back into the lab.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

_Chapter Fifteen_

Soon enough, Grissom and Sara were outside of her apartment building, having gotten through the traffic that was the Las Vegas lunch seekers.

She got out of her car and went around to Grissom's side. She opened the door to wake him up, but he was already well on his way to being awake. "My home away from home," he muttered.

"Really?" Sara asked, surprised. "Not the lab?"

"Nah…" he replied slowly. "I like it better here. Because you're here." He tried to smile, but it caused him pain.

She smiled, and bit back her retort. He didn't need to be reminded that she spent just as much time, if not more, at the lab. Lately, however, they had both spent a considerable less amount of time at work, and more with each other.

"Come on, slowly out of the car," she urged, helping him to stand. "Just let me get your stuff, and we'll go right up." She grabbed his briefcase from her trunk and made sure he had a good grip on his laptop.

Walking slowly but steadily to the front door, she rummaged in her bag for the key. "Found it," she announced, holding it up. She pulled open the door and held it for Grissom.

"Thanks, Sara," he said, his eyes adjusting to the dark coolness of the building's front lobby. She just smiled and led him to the elevator. It came immediately and they piled in.

They rode in silence up to the third floor. The doors opened, and Sara led Grissom down the hall. Stopping in front of number 304, she quickly pulled out another key and opened her door, ushering Grissom in.

"Home sweet home," she said, putting down his briefcase. She took his laptop from his grip and set it down on the breakfast bar. "Okay, first things first. You need rest. Sleeping options are; the couch, or the bed." She pointed in the direction of their room.

Grissom looked wearily from the bedroom to the couch mere inches from him. "Don't take it personally, honey," he whispered sleepily. "The couch is so much closer."

"Point taken," she said, grinning. "I'll get you some extra blankets and pillows." Walking away from him, she hurried to the linen closet, which had successfully been cleaned by Grissom the previous day. Grabbing a couple of blankets, she headed to her room for a few pillows.

She walked back into the living room to find Grissom already asleep, having collapsed onto the couch. Smiling slightly, she walked over to him, and knelt down. She gently shook him awake.

"Do you want anything?" He shook his head no, desperate to get back to sleep. "Alright. I'm just going to take a quick shower. Don't worry if the phone rings or someone calls up." He nodded, and closed his eyes. "Just yell if you need me," she told him, standing up.

He opened an eye to look at her. "Sara," he whispered. "You know that I don't have to be sick to need you. I _always_ need you."

Her smile grew and she kissed him on the forehead. "You know where to find me."

Sara went back to the closet and pulled out a towel. Choosing a white fluffy one, she smiled at the scent. It was a new washing liquid that Grissom had started using on her clothes, and it was a different scent from the lavender she usually used.

Walking to the bathroom, she heard slight snoring. Grissom was out already. _Let him sleep,_ she thought._ He needs it. I think we both do, but I've got to head back to work. Oh well… there's always later... Then he won't be alone. And neither will I._

Grinning, she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

**OoOoOoO**

Ten minutes later, Sara stepped out of her shower and into the white towel. She picked up her clothes and headed to her room. Passing by the living room once again, she could still hear Grissom snoring.

She put on a new set of clothes and combed her wet hair. Heading for the door, she stopped and turned around. Staring at the sleeping form on the couch, she debated with herself if she should leave a note. _Griss knows where everything is. And I really don't care if he goes through the pantry. Or fridge… or freezer… he practically lives here! But maybe I should…_

Sighing, Sara set down her purse and dug out a pad of paper and a pen. Quickly scribbling a note, she set it down on the table next to his head. Placing another water bottle by the note, she read it over once more before leaving.

It read, 'Medicine in bathroom cupboard. And a pot pie in the freezer. Call if you need anything, and get more rest. Don't work. Feel better! Love you so much, Sara.' Satisfied with it, she headed out the door.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

_Chapter Sixteen_

"Where is Grissom?" Greg asked Nick, both of them standing in the morgue.

"He's not coming," Sara said, rushing in for the second time that day.

"Where have you been?" Nick asked, giving her a suspicious look. "I paged you fifteen minutes ago!"

"I was held up behind traffic, Nick. Sorry." Sara stared back at him, silently daring him to drop his gaze.

Greg looked back and forth between his silent duelling companions. "Traffic?" he asked, hoping to ease some of the tension. "But I saw you earlier in the lab. Where did you go?"

"I took Grissom home; he was sick; incapable of driving. Migraine, pale and sweaty. I think he might be getting the flu. Catherine said it was going around. So he's at home, and I'm your help," Sara explained, giving Greg a grateful smile. He could always relieve tension.

"Oh. But what about your case?" he asked.

"Ruled suicide," Dr. Robbins answered, walking into the room. "Sara, hello again." He nodded at the brunette, and turned to the body in front of him.

"Oh," said Greg again, looking embarrassed.

Nick looked at the coroner. "What do we have on our Hotel Man?"

"Gunshot wounds to the chest, and one in the head; execution-style," said the doctor. "Cause of death was obviously the gunshot wounds, but he also bled out. And time of death was around three am this morning."

"Wow, we were up late," Sara said to herself, thinking back to the night before, and how little sleep she and Grissom had gotten. They'd talked, and attempted to sleep, but were quickly awoken by the gunshots. She didn't think they'd been up to almost three in the morning.

All three men turned to stare at her. "What?" Greg asked.

Sara lifted her eyes up, surprised to find them all staring at her.

"Did you say 'we were up late', Sara?" Dr. Robbins asked, a grin forming.

Her face flushed momentarily. _I let that slip out loud? Crap._

"Yes!" exclaimed Nick, his own grin forming. "You were out with someone last night! And I can't believe it wasn't me," he joked, squeezing her shoulder playfully. He turned to Greg. "See Greggo? I told you it was Sara we saw at the hotel this morning!"

Sara froze as the color from her cheeks drained. Nick and Greg had seen her? At the hotel? _No. They didn't. I left before they got there… didn't I? Yeah… I did… I think._

Composing herself, she put a smile on. Nick was still babbling. "Who was it? Who were you with?"

"Was it Gil?" Dr. Robbins asked, a smirk overpowering his grin.

Sara's smile dropped off her face and she turned serious. "No, it wasn't Grissom. Do you have anything more to tell us, or are we done?" Dr. Robbins shook his head no. "Good. Then let's head over to the DNA lab, and see who this guy is."

She backed away from the table, heading for the door. Nick and Greg thanked the coroner and headed out after her.

**OoOoOoO**

Sofia met the trio in the DNA lab. "Sofia," Nick greeted her as they walked in. "I was wondering where you'd gotten to. After we were done at the scene, you and Grissom disappeared. Then he came back, alone. Where did you go?"

She looked a little taken aback by Nick's greeting and small interrogation. "Oh… I needed to talk to Grissom in private about something. When we were done, I went for a small walk. Didn't feel very good. But I'm better now."

Sara sighed inwardly. Being rejected by Grissom, it was painful. It made you feel dumb, like he only wanted to be with smart girls. She knew what Sofia meant by not feeling good. After Grissom had said no to her, she'd felt sick to her stomach, even hours later. That pain wasn't going to go away soon for Sofia either. But Sara didn't much care about Sofia's pain. It just meant that Grissom was hurting the blonde so he didn't have to hurt _her_ anymore. It was a good feeling, for once. That someone else's heart was getting beat on, and not just hers.

She knew that later she'd start to feel bad for the cop, but right now, she was loving the feeling of being Grissom's woman, partner, other, whatever you wanted to call her, but the reason other women couldn't go out with him. A feeling she'd wanted for longer than she could remember.

Sofia was quite obviously avoiding Sara's gaze, and Sara took note of it. _Probably because she told me what they were 'talking' about. She asked him out, for God's sake!_ _It's her own fault. She asked out a committed guy. Even if we don't make it painfully obvious that we're together, she shouldn't have approached him. Everyone with eyes in this lab saw us, knew that there was something there, even before it was official, which they still don't know about. She just wasn't smart enough to see it, I guess..._

"Sara?" Someone was calling her name. "Sara!" Greg was waving something in front of her face. "Nick said to tell you to take this to Trace," he said, handing her the sealed evidence bag with a blue fibre in it.

"Sorry Greggo," she apologized. "I'm just a bit distracted, that's all."

"We've noticed," he replied, walking out the door, leaving her alone in the DNA lab. "Oh," he said, poking his head back in, "Sofia and Nick have gone to Ballistics, by the way. They want to know what kind of gun was used to shoot Hotel Man. Page me when you get something."

"I always do." Sara gave him a grin. "Page me when you get something too."

"Always do," he teased, leaving again.

Sara stared after Greg, a bit confused at his comment about her being easily distracted. _I don't get distracted at work with Griss, do I? No. He's not even here! But what else could he be referring to? Maybe he does think we have something…_

She pushed that thought from her mind, and headed over to Trace.

* * *

**A/N 5:** Sara isn't heartless, just so you know. And I don't think she is, contrary to what was just going through her head. It's just, if you'd been in love with a guy (a really hot, _sexy_ guy) for like, eight years, and _finally_ got him to come around to you, you'd be super jealous of an annoying-voiced British blonde cop who looks like she wants to screw every guy she can get, right? That's what I thought. 

Still not a Sofia hater though!


	17. Chapter Seventeen

_Chapter Seventeen_

Grissom awoke to warm, comforting colors. They were very different from his grey, bleak and boring townhouse. These colors were a much better way to wake up from a terrible migraine. He sat up to take a sip of the water that Sara had left him, and saw the note lying on the table. He slowly dragged himself off the couch, wrapping her blanket tightly around him. It smelled just like her, as if her scent had somehow woven its way into the fabric.

He read her note, and took out the pot pie. After staring at it for awhile, he decided he couldn't stomach a vegetarian pot pie. He decided to call her, wondering if it was okay if he went through the pantry.

"Sidle," she answered, sounding distracted.

"Hey, honey. Are you in the middle of something? Should I call you back?" Grissom asked.

"Grissom?" She snapped back to attention. "Griss? Are you okay? Do you need help? What's wrong?"

Grissom was surprised by the edge in her voice. He was only calling to ask if he could go through her pantry. "No, honey. I'm fine. I just got up, and saw your note. But I decided I couldn't take a vegetarian pot pie right now. So I was wondering… can I go through your pantry?"

Sara laughed. "Sure, Griss. You can go through the pantry." She heard him rummaging around in her pantry, and smiled. Hearing him let out a huff of annoyance, she asked, "Problems?"

"You have no feel-better food. None whatsoever. What do you do when you're sick?"

Sara could picture him pouting in front of her pantry. "Lately? I go to you. Because you have feel-better food. And you can always make me feel better now. Before we were together, I just didn't get sick, I suppose."

Grissom sighed good-naturedly. "Do you have any chicken noodle soup? I think you might have been right about the flu. Now that I think about it… I am not feeling that well."

"What about the migraine?" Sara asked.

"Gone, for now. But the soup. Do you have any?"

She laughed out loud. "Griss? You're asking me, the residential lab vegetarian, if I have any _chicken_ noodle soup."

"Sorry, Sara. But do you?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope. No such thing as vegetarian chicken noodle soup. But I'll pick some up after my shift for you, alright? Real chicken noodle soup, just for you. All because I -" she stopped mid-sentence.

"Sara?" Grissom asked, concerned when she abruptly stopped speaking. "Honey are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah, yeah... I'll bring it over. Nick, Nick just arrived, and he's got trace results. I've got to go. See you later."

Grissom was about to say goodbye and end their odd conversation when he remembered the case. "How are you guys doing? Do you need any help?"

Sara sounded jokingly exasperated. "We're doing fine. But I really do have to go. Nick is giving me evil stares to get off the phone. And rest! Work and I will be very unhappy with you," she added in a whisper, letting him know love wouldn't be happening that night if he went against her orders.

"Alright dear. No work, I promise," he said, smiling.

"Okay I've got to go. Really. See you later!" she said, and then hung up.

**OoOoOoO**

Nick was watching Sara as she put her phone back onto her hip. He have her an odd look. "Why would Grissom ask you if you had chicken noodle soup? I thought you took him home."

She looked up at him, a small smile playing on her lips. She stayed quiet though.

"So… you and Grissom?" he asked slowly. She ignored him, and looked down at the trace printout. "C'mon, Sara," he begged. "You can talk to me."

Her smile deepened. Walking around the table, she lightly punched him in the arm, and then slipped her hand into his momentarily. "I know I can talk to you Nick, and I'm grateful for that. But right now… I just don't have anything to say."

Greg walked in; unaware of what was going on in front of him. Looking up, he was instantly embarrassed. "Oh guys – am I… am I interrupting something?"

Sara pulled her hand from Nick's grip, knowing what must be going through Greg's head. "Uh… no, Greg. You're good. I was just about to page you, actually…" her voice trailed off.

Nick flexed the hand that Sara had been holding only moments before. "Yeah, Greggo… let's see what Trace gave us." He motioned to the printout in front of him.

"Right," Greg said, picking it up. "The blue fibre came back as… blue embroidery thread." He looked up, disappointment quickly shadowing his face. "That doesn't really narrow it down a whole bunch, does it?"

Sara looked up, an idea forming in her mind. "Wait… yes it does. The hotel staff… on all of their uniforms, the name of the hotel is embroidered in -"

"Blue embroidery thread!" Greg finished, looking excited. "Way to go Sara!"

She grinned. Greg was so excited at a break in a case. Even after being a CSI for a couple of years, he was still like a little kid, always making the adults smile with his enthusiasm.

Nick's words, however, brought her back out of her thoughts. "Hold on a minute. You were never at the crime scene. How could you know about their uniforms?" His suspicious looks directed at her were obvious.

"What? Oh, I've been to that hotel before, Nick. It's actually a really nice place," Sara told him, thinking quickly. She hadn't actually been to the hotel before her stay with Grissom the night before. "When I came to Vegas from San Francisco, Grissom set me up there, until I finally agreed to move here permanently."

The Texan looked surprised. "Oh. How come Griss never set me up in a hotel like that?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Because," Sara said, unable to hide her amusement. "Grissom called me in on personal request… after Holly was shot." She stopped, unsure of how to proceed. After the rookie CSI had been shot, and then later died during surgery, no one had spoken of it again. "Anyway, he owed me a favour. So I chose to stay in a nice hotel."

Greg laughed. "A favour from what?" he asked.

"Oh I don't know," was Sara's response. "I can't remember. Anyway, let's go back to the hotel; check for GSR on any of the employees. Greg, go find Sofia, and tell her to meet us at the hotel. Nick, let's go."

Nick and Greg did as they were instructed, and followed Sara out the door.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

_Chapter Eighteen_

Sara and Nick arrived at the hotel shortly before Sofia and Greg pulled up behind them. Sara waved to Greg, and gave Sofia a small smile. She returned the greeting, yet her face still looked forced.

"Okay," said Nick, waiting until they were all assembled together in a group. "Sara and I will talk to the manager. Sofia, Greg, show a picture of the vic to employees, see if anyone around here knows him." They both nodded, and headed off to speak with employees.

**OoOoOoO**

The two criminalists walked to the check-in desk, gearing up for a talk with the manager. "Excuse me, miss…?" Nick asked, holding up his badge.

"Dorthy," she answered. "Dorthy Mandel." Her gaze moved from the badge in Nick's hand to Sara's face, and then to Nick's. She grinned. "Are you back already?" she asked, turning to stare at Sara once more.

"Excuse me?" Sara asked, confused.

"You were here last night. With some old guy. Was he not good enough? Because, if I do say so myself, today's guy is way better looking than the guy who brought you here last night. Well, anyway, you can't have the same room as last night. There was a murder next door. Hell, if I'd given the two of you that room, you could've died. But it's been taped off. I could get you two another one on a different floor, if you want…"

"Stop." Sara was annoyed. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dorthy looked surprised. "Why, you. Last night." Realization hit her. "Oh my God, you don't remember, do you? He didn't drug you, did he?"

Sara had no idea what the hell this woman was going on about, but it was starting to unnerve her. She didn't remember – _Shit._ Now she knew what Dorthy was talking about. It came crashing down, all around her, like a tidal wave.

Talking in Grissom's office. The staff meeting. Talking with Sofia. Running out of the lab. Walking away from Grissom. Them standing in the rain. Being led to the hotel. Talking in their room, facing some of their problems. An attempt at sleep. Being awoken by the sound of gunshots. Trying to help the victims, Grissom saying no, that he loved her. Waiting for a CSI call to come. The trip back to the lab, and the fight between Brass and Grissom. Her leaving the hotel…

The events of the night before swam in her mind. Quickly pushing the thoughts away, she knew she needed to do some serious damage control. She didn't need an outside source planting seeds into Nick's head about her and Grissom's relationship.

"Dorthy," Sara said politely. "I'm sorry. But you've got the wrong woman. I wasn't here last night. In fact, I haven't been here in over seven years. So you're confusing me with someone else."

"No dear," she argued. "It was you here last night. You walked in with him, from the rain. An older man, salt and pepper beard… and really, really blue eyes. And you…"

"Dorthy!" Nick said over her. Holding out his badge again, he continued, "My name is Nick Stokes, and this is Sara Sidle. We're from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. We're here to investigate that murder on the third floor. And we would like to speak to the manager."

Dorthy gave Sara one last look before turning to Nick. "No can do, Mr. Stokes. Don's not here."

Sara and Nick exchanged glances before Sara said, "Not here? Where is he?"

"Don? On vacation to Hawaii." She gazed at the two in front of her, and connected the dots. "I'm not stupid. Don's been in Hawaii for two weeks now. He hasn't even been informed of the… incident. It's his planned vacation time. He and his family always go on vacation for long amounts of time. It's tradition."

"Oh, right," said Nick. "Well, we're just going to have a look around." He took Sara's arm and started to lead her away.

"Knock yourselves out," Dorthy replied, turning to help someone else.

**OoOoOoO**

Nick led Sara to an isolated corner of the lobby, away from Greg and Sofia. Turning to her, he fixed her with a steady gaze. "Sara? What was that woman…?"

"Dorthy."

"Yeah, Dorthy. What was she going on about, with you being here last night with a guy that she described as being Grissom? Is there something you're not telling us?"

"Nick! No! I wasn't here last night. And as far as I know, Griss wasn't here last night either. And I told you, I _have_ been here with Grissom –" Nick's eyes got wide. "Seven years ago. When he set me up while I was getting settled in. But Grissom and I have not been here 'together', alright?" Nick nodded, and Sara smiled at him. "Good. Let's go see if any of these employees know our guy."

They headed back to where Sofia and Greg were standing. "Okay, desk clerk was a bust," Nick reported. "And the manager is on vacation in Hawaii. How about you guys? Find anything?"

"No," Greg replied. "No one knows this guy. And it doesn't help that we don't even know who he is either."

Sara patted him on the back. "It's okay, Greggo. We'll figure it out. Nick, you and I will start our own round of showing the guy's picture around." She let go of Greg and pointed to the far side of the lobby.

"Alright. If you two need anything, just call, okay?" Nick told them over his shoulder, following Sara. Sofia and Greg nodded, and went back to asking if anyone had seen their vic.

Walking over to the opposite side of the lobby, Nick pulled an autopsy picture out of his kit. "Alright… let's go get an identity," he muttered.

An elevator opened up beside them, revealing a young man pushing a room service cart. He stopped to stare at the two criminalists before violently pushing the cart at Sara and sprinting down the hall.

She winced as the cart slammed into her side, but managed to yell out, "Sofia! Suspect on the move!"

Nick was closer, and ran after the man, with Sofia quickly coming up behind them. When Sofia rounded the corner, she saw Nick sitting on the suspect, holding him. "Nick! Have you patted him down?" she asked, pulling out her walkie-talkie to call for back-up.

"All clear. No weapons," Nick replied, breathing hard.

Sara and Greg came rushing down the hall. "Nick!" Sara called. "Are you alright?" He stood and pulled the man up with him. Sofia held the man at gunpoint, should he try to run again. "Greg, stay with Sofia until back-up arrives, okay?" Sara ordered, leading Nick away.

She took his arm and pulled him along with her to the far end of the hall. "Nicky, you did a great job. Are you sure you're alright?" He was still breathing hard.

"Yeah, Sara, I'm good. Thanks. What about you? I saw the cart slam into you."

She gave him a small smile and straightened out his jacket. Ignoring the bruise forming on her side, she said, "I'm alright. You had a good run there. I think I'll be okay."

"Right. Let's get back to our guy. Sofia's back-up is here." He turned away from her, heading back down the hall.

Sara followed Nick back down the hall to where Sofia and Greg were standing with back-up. "You are under the arrest for the murder of Sean Bristonian," Sofia said, watching as handcuffs were slapped onto the suspect's wrists.

"But I didn't do it," the man said, looking terrified.

"Shut up," Sofia snapped at the man. "You do have the right to remain silent. And I suggest you comply by that right."

"How did you know who our vic was?" Sara asked, coming up behind Nick.

"Dr. Robbins. He just paged me now with dental records," Greg answered.

"And who's our runaway?" Nick asked.

"Sydney Walker," Sofia said, coming to join the group. "Ex-best friend of Bristonian." She was holding Walker's wallet.

"What do you mean, 'ex-best friend'?" Sara asked slowly.

"Walker, our runaway, and Bristonian, our vic, used to be friends." Sofia pulled some pictures out of the wallet. "See this blonde?" she asked.

"Who is she?" Greg asked in confusion.

"We don't know." Sofia pointed out that the woman had her arms around the suspect in what could only be classified as a lover's embrace. "It's obvious that these two were a couple. But," she paused. "These pictures are all from 2003 or older. In Bristonian's wallet, there were pictures of Blondie and him. Same type of pictures. And Walker had pictures of Sean in the back pockets. Looks like they were friends… but…" she trailed off.

"But Blondie got tired of Walker and went to the arms of Bristonian." Nick finished. "Looks to me like Walker was not pleased that is girl would leave him for his best friend."

"A crime of passion, if you will," Sofia suggested.

Sara nodded. "A crime of passion. I'd have to agree with you Sofia. Definitely looks that way." She stole a glance at her watch and grinned. "Well guys, technically, shift is over and this is your case to finish. I'm going to go check on Grissom, see how he's doing."

Neither Greg nor Nick dared mention the fact that she was going to see him outside of work was highly out of the ordinary for both of them. They were smarter than that.

"Alright. But will you be coming back? Or do you want us to go ahead and finish this?" Nick asked.

"You know what? It's your case. You can finish it. I have faith in you. Besides, I've got to make sure Griss didn't keel over and die after I left his place." She grinned at her coworkers shocked expressions. "Don't worry. It was only a headache. I'll see you tonight." Sara gave them a small wave and headed for the exit.

Sofia followed her to the door. "Sara? Where is Grissom? Why are you working our case, and not yours?"

_Why are you full of so many freaking questions?_ A small voice in the back of her head reminded her that Sofia was a detective. It was her job to ask questions.

"He's at home with a migraine, and possibly the flu. My case was ruled suicide. Grissom said he wanted my help on your case. Now I really have to go. I'll see you tonight."

Sara didn't look back as she pushed through the revolving door and headed out of the hotel.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

_Chapter Nineteen_

Forty-five minutes later, Sara walked into her apartment with her groceries to find Grissom wide awake, reading one of her few non-scientific books.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes."

"Good. How are you feeling?" She set down the bags on the breakfast bar.

"Better," he told her, getting up off the couch to help.

"You don't have to do that," she told him, putting her hands on his chest to lightly push him away.

"But I want to," he replied, pulling out a can of chicken noodle soup. "Ah… good. You remembered."

"Of course I did." Sara took out a bowl to warm up the soup in. "You better really like this stuff. Or… you have to get sick a lot and stay here, because I bought a lot." She grinned at him, pointing to the other cans sitting on the counter.

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Of course I like the soup," he said, putting his chin down on her shoulder. "But I like you more."

Sara laughed and playfully elbowed him in the stomach. "Sure you do."

"Ow!" he cried out in mock pain. "That hurt! And I _do_ like you more."

"Sit down," she instructed, smiling at his sweet comment. "Soup's almost ready."

Grissom did as he was told and sat down. Sara pulled the soup from the microwave and set it down in front of him.

"Thanks dear," he said, catching her hand and pulling her close. "Thanks for everything. For waiting, for caring and loving me, for being amazing, and for just being you." He brought his lips down onto hers, kissing her softly.

When the kiss broke, Sara was a little dazed. "Where did that come from?" she asked, pulling out of his embrace to sit opposite him at the table.

"I was just thinking. We've known each other for ever, it seems, and I knew that you had an… interest in me. I just never really understood it, or why you did. This past year and a bit with you, Sara, have been amazing. The best of my entire life. And they've helped me understand. Catherine tried to get it into my brain, but I couldn't wrap my head around it. But it's slowly coming along, and I thought I'd let you know just how grateful I really am of you," he explained, looking down as the blush crept up his cheeks.

That confession had been harder than he'd expected it would be, but he was glad that he'd gotten it out without choking. He looked up for her reaction.

Sara was sitting shocked. _Where did that come from?_ she wondered silently. Such a blunt confession from him was still a rarity, and when he did decide to show what he was really feeling, she felt privileged that he was letting her in.

She was so surprised, she couldn't speak. Tears welled up in her eyes and in the back of her throat; the happy kind. "I – wow."

Grissom smiled. She looked happy. Now they could move onto a conversation that wasn't so hard on him. "How's the case going?" he asked casually, sipping the soup.

Her voice returned, and putting on a stern glare, she said, "Griss, I told you. No work." The sparkle in her eyes told him that she wasn't angry at all. Just jokingly exasperated.

"Just an update? Please…?" He gazed at her, locking his intense blue stare onto her soft brown one.

Breaking eye contact, she grinned. "Alright. We caught the guy who did it. An employee of the hotel, actually." A thought occurred to her. "Speaking of the hotel… we may have run into a small problem."

"Who's we?" Grissom asked, finishing the soup and setting the spoon down.

"We, as in me and you, you and me… us." Sara said, feeling like she was stating the obvious. Taking his bowl, she stood up and went to the sink.

Grissom watched her move around the kitchen. "Oh. And what might that problem be?"

"The desk clerk in the hotel? Dorthy? The woman who gave us our room yesterday?" He nodded, remembering. "Well, Nick and I walked in, to talk to the manager, who wasn't there… but anyway, we walked in together, and she thought that we were there together, like a couple. She went on and on about how you and I had been at the hotel the night before. And afterwards, Nick cornered me and asked what the hell was going on between us. I said nothing is, or was ever going on."

She leaned against the counter, wondering how to bring up the fact that Sofia kept asking about them. Deciding to get to the point, she said, "And _after_ that, Sofia asked about you for the _second_ time today. She wanted to know where you were, wondering why I was working your case and not my own."

"Well," he said, unsure of what to do. "If you told Nick nothing was going on, then he has no reason to doubt you, right?"

Sara nodded. "And Sofia?" she asked again. "Are you going to do anything about her, and what she said?"

"What did she say the first time?" Grissom asked in a small voice, half afraid of what the answer was.

Sara looked up. "She asked if I'd ever been rejected by you." Even she couldn't ignore the catch in her voice and the new tears in the back of her throat.

Internally, she was mad. At herself. His rejection had been over four years ago, and they were together now, and happy. One time shouldn't have such a big impact on her heart. But it still did, and whenever it was brought up, it stung.

Grissom saw the pain in her eyes. "Sara…"

"Don't worry about it," she told him, swallowing the pain and tears. She walked over to the couch and sat down. "What exactly did you and Sofia talk about?"

"You, actually," he said, sitting down gently on the couch next to her. "She asked why I went after you the other night, and didn't stay to talk to her. I told her that I cared about you, and wanted to make sure you were okay. I think she got a bit mad at that… but it doesn't matter. Then she asked me if I wanted to have dinner with her sometime, but I told her that I already had someone to have dinner with."

"Ah… so sweet," Sara teased, kissing him on the nose before moving to his lips.

Grissom grinned, despite her teasing. He went to say something as they pulled apart but was interrupted by a ringing at her side. Pulling away from him, she retrieved her phone. "Sidle," she answered.

"Sara, it's Nick. We need you back at the lab, like, now," he said quickly.

"What? Why? I thought you said you'd finish on your own," Sara said, concern evident on her face.

"Yeah, I know what I said. Forget what I said! We've had a… development," Nick explained.

Her face grew hard. "What kind of development?" she asked coolly. She did not want anything interrupting her now that she was at home with Grissom. Work was over, and she shouldn't have to deal with it when she just wanted to be at home with the one who loved her.

Grissom winced at the venom in her voice. Whatever the caller was telling her, she _did not_ want to be hearing it.

Nick's words burst Sara's bubble, and she knew her work day was in fact, not quite over. "Well, we searched Walker's apartment, and found a gun. Same calibre as the one used to shoot Bristonian. When printed however, his prints weren't on it at all. It is registered to him, though. I guess he never used it."

"What!?" Sara shouted.

"Yeah… the prints came back to a Krystal Shave," Nick reported.

"Who?" she asked, confusion overshadowing the earlier concern.

"The blonde in the pictures."

Sara swore extensively, causing Grissom to wince again. "Sorry," she whispered. "Do you know where she is?"

"No. She's still at large. That would be the reason we need you back. So hurry," Nick explained. "I'll see you in twenty minutes."

Sara hung up angrily and started grabbing her things to leave. "Problems?" Grissom asked tentatively.

"Yes! The guy we picked up? None of his freakin' fingerprints are on the murder weapon, even though it's his." She moved towards the door. "I'm sorry, Griss. I have to go. I'd rather stay here with you… so _badly_ I want to stay with you... but I have to get back to the lab. So I'll see you later. Eat as much soup as you want."

Grissom stood up and followed her to the door. He could recognize her anger, and right now, it was boiling. "Be safe," he whispered into her hair, wrapping his arms protectively around her body. He tilted her head so he could see her better.

Kissing her softly, he said, "Use your head and not your heart, honey. Don't be stupid. Put the right person away and then come home. You're pulling a double."

Sara nodded, leaning into him momentarily before pulling away. Turning around, she headed out the door.


	20. Chapter Twenty

_Chapter Twenty_

Twenty minutes later, Sara was back in the lab with Nick, Greg, and Sofia. "Okay, do we have anything on where our Blondie is?" she asked.

"We just put out a broadcast half an hour ago, right before I called you," Nick reported.

"Good. We need her here, now," Sara said, exasperated.

A cell phone rang, causing everyone to check their hips. "Curtis," Sofia answered. A smile broke out as the caller relayed the information to the cop. She thanked the informer and hung up. "Okay. We've got a place. Desert Palms Casino. Let's move."

**OoOoOoO**

Walking into the casino, Sofia instructed for everyone to stay behind her and the other cops. Moving slowly, she approached Krystal Shave. After doing a once over, she motioned for the three criminalists to come forward; the suspect was safe.

"Krystal Shave?" Nick inquired.

The blonde woman turned around. "Yes?"

"Do you know a Sean Bristonian?" Greg asked her.

"Yes," she repeated.

"Did you kill him?" Sofia asked.

"Yes." Krystal didn't even blink as she answered their questions.

"Then you're under arrest for the murder of him," Sofia said, putting handcuffs on the woman. Sofia was surprised at the girl's cooperation. She didn't even deny that she killed the guy. She didn't struggle against the handcuffs, or the walk to the cruiser car.

Nick looked confused. "Why did she kill him then? If they were dating, why would she kill him?"

"Sara?" Greg was staring at his colleague. She hadn't said anything throughout the entire exchange.

"I know why," she whispered quietly. "It was self-defence. Look at the bruises on her arms, legs, and neck. Sean was an abuser."

"You're right," Sofia said, returning. "After we figured out who he was, I ran him through our database. We've had half a dozen complaints against him from a number of women over the past year. I'll agree with Sara. Definitely looks like self-defence."

"Then I'm glad he's dead," Sara stated, her face hard.

"Sara!" Nick said, shocked. "I can't believe you would say that!"

"Anyone who is an abuser should deserve to die, or be put behind bars for life," she said quietly but firmly. "And this guy, he was an abuser. And now he's gone. The city is free of one more criminal."

Nick and Greg exchanged glances. They knew Sara was empathetic about certain cases and their victims, but this was new. She was taking the side of a criminal? It was a side to her that they were sure they hadn't seen before. And Nick was pretty sure that he did not like this side of Sara, or her heart.

"Sara, we've got to head back to the lab. Interrogation to do. We need a formal statement saying that Krystal did it."

She looked up from her now-open cell phone. "What? Oh, okay. Just… I'll meet you at the car in a couple of minutes. I've got a call to make."

Nick nodded and headed back to his car. Sofia and Greg followed his lead, quickly heading out as well.

**OoOoOoO**

Nick sighed as he waited in his car for Sara. He wasn't stupid. The call she was making was almost one hundred percent to Grissom. He wondered what had made her identify with the killer, and what kind of solace Grissom was giving her. But they had some weird history that no one in the lab was quite sure of, and Nick hoped that his friend was getting her solace from someone who really cared about her. Which Grissom appeared to. More than that cheating paramedic, anyway.

Smiling to himself slightly, he settled back in his seat, and turned up the air conditioning. Sara would kill him if she came back to find the car scorching.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

_Chapter Twenty-One_

"Grissom? It's Sara."

He sat up abruptly on the couch. She sounded horrible. "Sara? Sweetheart, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she told him, unable to keep the emotion out of her voice. She wasn't going to break down in the middle of a casino. She wouldn't put Grissom through the emotional turmoil of hearing her cry over the phone and not being able to do anything.

"Done with the case?" he asked carefully.

"Almost. We've got the right person now, I think," she told him, straining to bring her voice back under control.

"Who was it?"

"His girlfriend."

Grissom was surprised. "His girlfriend? But why?"

"Because he abused her. Physically, probably sexually too. Grissom… she's got bruises and cuts all over her," Sara explained, unable to hide the catch in her voice.

Grissom's heart broke at the sound of Sara trying to keep her emotions in check. Abuse cases always took a toll on her; this one was no different.

"Sara…"

"Don't. I'm fine," she told him, more forcefully than she had intended.

"Okay, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, honey. It's alright. Really." Grissom was getting better at knowing when and when not to argue with her. This was one of those times he knew _not_ to argue with her.

"Nick and I are doing interrogation this time, not Sofia and Greg. So I better go. Nick's waiting for me in the car. I'll see you at home," she said.

Grissom was a little taken aback by her abrupt dismissal. "Right," was all he could think of to say.

He'd heard it in her voice, the pain and anger. Somehow, without meaning to, he'd offended her. "Well, get home as soon as you can, okay?" He heard her murmur yes on the other end before hanging up.

_Damnit, Grissom! Why do you always make a fool of yourself around her, even now, when you're together? Why do you act so stupid?_

He could only come up with one explanation, and he did not like it. He was still afraid. Afraid that she would get bored, find someone younger, and leave him. Or that she'd break his heart over something small and stupid. Or that their relationship would become knowledge to unknown enemies, and she would wind up hurt.

What it all came down to was this; he was afraid of his own heart, and the power Sara still held over it. And he had no idea what to do about it.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

Sara and Nick were sitting in the interrogation room with Krystal Shave, and they weren't getting very far. The suspect had resulted to giving them one word answers.

Sara looked down at the notes in front of her. "Krystal… were you and Sean Bristonian in a relationship?"

Krystal looked up, hesitating to answer. "Yes," she said finally.

"Why the hesitation?" Nick asked, eyeing the woman.

"Because what we had… I don't know if you'd call it a 'relationship'… it was, well, it just was," she answered, her voice faltering a bit.

"Were you abused by Sean?" Sara asked in what she hoped was an even tone. "Physically or sexually?"

Krystal's gaze hardened. "Yes. More than once."

"And you killed him, using Walker's gun?"

"Yes." Krystal looked from one criminalist to the other. "Is that all?" she asked, standing.

Sara nodded, and waved Sofia in to take her away, but Nick's questioning voice stopped her. "Wait," he said. Turning to Krystal, he continued, "I want to know why. Why did you kill him?"

Sara kicked him under the table. "You sound like Grissom," she whispered in his ear.

He grinned back at her. "Grissom _would_ know why," he whispered back.

Krystal sat back down and fixed Nick with an icy glare. "Why did I kill Sean? Because the stupid son of a bitch took advantage of me, and that's not how I work."

Sara sat back, a little shocked. The girl had so much conviction in her voice. It surprised her.

"I killed Sean using Sydney's gun because he was a friend. And I knew I could trust him…" her eyes slowly brimmed with tears, threatening to overflow. "Sydney, he couldn't believe that Sean would hurt me, or anyone else in that way. He wanted to finish him off, but I said that I needed to do it. So I did. And that, Mr. Stokes, is why I killed Sean. Because of what he did to me."

Sara looked at the two-way mirror and nodded to Sofia again, signaling that she could come take Krystal away.

"Krystal Shave, you are under the arrest for the murder of Sean Bristonian," Sofia said, pulling her out of the chair and putting handcuffs on her wrists. She pushed her to the door, leading her out of the room.

Nick turned to Sara. "Shift's over." He stood up out of his chair. "Locker room?"

She smiled. "Yeah, locker room it is." She stood up as well, and followed Nick down the hall.

**OoOoOoO**

Reaching the cool interior of the locker room, Nick looked nervously at Sara. "Uh, Sara? About what happened, earlier… in the lab…"

Confusion was evident on Sara's face until realization dawned on her. She laughed. "What? The hand holding thing?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah…"

"Ah, Nick. I just wanted you to understand that I know I can talk to you, and that you'll always be there for me. That's all. And Greg seeing? It's only Greg. He's moved on." Sara flashed him a grin before shutting her locker.

Nick grinned back. "Okay."

She went up to him and playfully punched his chest before kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for understanding, Nick. It means a lot."

He nodded in recognition before shutting his own locker and heading to the door. "See you later," he said, giving her a wave.

Sara was one step behind him when a blonde intercepted her path. "Sara! Could we talk a minute?"

She scowled at her, saying, "Not now, Sofia. Later." All Sara wanted to do was go home to Grissom. She wanted to curl up on the couch with him and feel his arms around her, wrapping her in his love as they watched a movie or just talked. And she was so _not_ in the mood for another round of Sofia's questioning.

"Just real quick, I promise," Sofia said, taking Sara's arm and pulling her back into the room.

"What the hell!? What is this –" Sara protested, but Sofia cut her off.

"I just wanted to apologize to you, and Grissom, I guess. I'm sorry for bombarding you both with questions about your relationship. It was wrong of me, and I really am sorry." Sofia looked tired, and Sara didn't blame her.

"Thanks," Sara said softly, catching Sofia's gaze with her own. "That really means a lot to me, and probably to Grissom as well. I'll see you later, alright?"

Sofia gave a quick nod, and Sara wasn't even sure that she'd heard her. "One more thing," Sofia whispered quietly. "Could you tell Grissom that I'm sorry? And, I've also decided that I don't love him. Too much pressure, and he's kind of…"

"Eccentric?" Sara provided, a grin forming.

"Yeah. Eccentric. It'd be hard to deal with all the time." Sofia gave Sara a small smile.

Sara hid her grin with a cough, but continued to smile on the inside. "Good choice," she said to Sofia, turning quickly. "I'll see you later."

* * *

**A/N 6:** Yay! Good Sofia! Not Grissom-chasing Sofia! lol. All you Sofia-haters are probably going, "Aw no, Sara was supposed to kill her!" Sorry! Not in this fic. Maybe a different one, but... ;-) 


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

Grissom still didn't know what to do with Sara and her power over his heart, and he didn't know why he was getting nervous now. They'd been together for months, and he'd never worried about it before. Maybe because this was the first rough case they were going through together…? He really didn't know.

Taking a deep breath, he told himself to stay calm. Sara would be home any minute, and he being worried always bothered her.

Entering her apartment, Sara sighed tiredly. "You know, sometimes I really don't like this job," she stated.

"Hi, honey. What's wrong? And what do you want to do for dinner?" Grissom asked, watching her from the couch.

She collapsed onto the couch beside him, slowly immersing herself in his arms. "I am _so_ tired," she complained into his chest, voicing what she'd been wanting since Sofia had stopped her in the locker room. "I don't want to do anything but sit here with you."

Grissom resisted the urge to laugh. "What happened to the girl who could go days with no sleep?" he teased.

"She's tired right now," Sara said, her face now buried in his neck.

He grinned down at the top of her head. "I know a great vegetarian place that delivers," he offered, reaching for her phone at her hip.

Noticing the ugly purple mark that was marring her beautiful pale skin, he became concerned. "Sara? What happened?" He pulled her shirt up to see the injury better.

"What? Oh, that." She lifted her head up to inspect the injury. "Nick and I were at the hotel, showing the vic's picture around. The first guy we brought into custody - the wrong one - he was pushing a room service cart. When he saw us, he shoved the cart at me and ran. Nick chased after him, and it went from there. I guess I actually had it the last time I was home. Just didn't hurt, I suppose. But it's no big deal. Just don't touch it, okay?"

Grissom nodded and went to take the phone from her hip. Making contact with her un-bruised skin, he tickled it lightly until she swatted his hand away. "Stop it!" she said between laughs.

Her brown eyes were sparkling. He hadn't seen her like this in such a long time, and it made his heart swell knowing that with him being there, loving her and caring for her, made her this happy. Because right now, she was fun, loving, and absolutely beautiful.

The case, no matter the impact, had been left at work. Sara was free right now, from that terror or anything else that left her unsettled.

Grissom knew not to ruin their moment with words of their careers, or what might be awaiting their next shift. They would only be with each other, because right now, she was his. His beautiful, loving, caring and truly amazing Sara. Not other CSI's or the Crime Lab's, but his.

He stopped tickling her long enough so she could breathe, but she only collapsed into a fit of laughter at his side. He pushed her hair out of her face, which was plastered with the biggest smile he had ever seen her put on.

"'I have loved to the point of madness; that which is called madness, that which to me, is the only sensible way to love,'" Grissom quoted, running a finger along her hairline.

Sara shuddered in pleasure at the touch. Smiling, she teased, "I'm going to take a guess and say… Shakespeare?"

"Nope. By F. Sagan, actually," he told her, tracing along her jaw line.

"So, does that mean you love me madly?" she asked, her smile growing even more.

"I guess so…" He was cut off by Sara's mouth on his.

She kissed him, and all of his thoughts disappeared, like they always did when they were together. All his problems were washed from his brain, as if she'd taken away the 'problem blanket' that usually hung over him.

She moved closer to him, deepening the kiss. Grissom could hear the voice in his head; _Tomorrow. We'll talk tomorrow._

They were in a good place, and he decided that for once, good would override bad in his life. Tomorrow would come, they would go to work, they would work a case and it would all be the same.

But for today, right now, right in this moment, all that mattered was the two of them, their life, and their happiness. Tomorrow could wait.

* * *

And... THE END! Finally! For all you amazing people who stuck it out to the very end, thank you so very very much! I didn't think this story would garner so much feedback, but you guys have been awesome, telling me you loved it and wanted it more. Such a great feeling that is, and I love each and every one of you for it.

As for the people who thought the rest of the team would find out, I'm sorry! But, you could go read "Secrets Revealed" if you wanted to read one where they find out. As for now, I'm going to go get some sleep, and let my brain just think up more ideas to put up eventually.

Thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.


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